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Bret  i&tstoms 


UNITED  STATES 


FROM  THE 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN 
CONTINENT  UP  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME 


BY 

JULIAN  HAWTHORNE 

( TO  1783) 

JAMES  SCHOULER 

(1783  TO  1865) 

E.  BENJAMIN  ANDREWS 

(1866  TO  1904) 

Illustrated 


IN    NINE     VOLUMES 

VOLUME  EIGHT 


NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
THE  CO-OPERATIVE  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


E:  r/g 

LLle 

v.S 


COPYRIGHT  1895,  1896,  1903 
Bv  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

COPYRIGHT  1904 
Bv  P.  F.  COLLIER  &  SON 


CONTENTS. 


THE   UNITED   STATES   IN   PEOCESS   OF   RECON- 
STEUCTION. 

Accession  of  Andrew  Johnson — Disbanding  the  Federal  Armies — 
Proclamation  of  Peace — Cost  of  the  War — Status  of  the  Late 
Confederate  States  —  The  Thirteenth  Amendment  —  President's 
Plan  of  Reconstruction,  and  Steps  Before  His  First  Annual 
Message — Congressional  Plan — Inevitable  Conflict  between  the 
President  and  Congress — The  Freedmen's  Bureau — Evil  Effects — 
Supplementary  Freedmen's  Bureau  Act  Vetoed — Indiscreet  Con 
duct  of  the  President — First  Civil  Rights  Act — Veto  Overridden 
— Congress  Proposes  the  Fourteenth  Amendment — Tennessee  Re 
admitted — Johnson's  Second  Annual  Message — The  First  Recon 
struction  Act  and  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act — The  Veto  and  Ac 
companying  Argument — Veto  Overridden — Supplementary  Re 
construction  Laws — Veto  Ineffectual — South  Invaded  by  Civil 
Adventurers,  "Carpet-Baggers" — Stanton  -Suspended — Congress 
Restores  Him  to  Office — Johnson  Defies  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act 
— Attempt  at  Impeachment  of  the  President — Failure — Presi 
dential  Nominations — Grant — Seymour — Grant  Elected — Con 
gress  Proposes  the  Fifteenth  Amendment — The  End  of  Recon 
struction 9 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RECONSTRUCTION. 

Land  and  People  in  1870 — Territories — Railroads  in  the  West — 
Fenian  Movements — Boston's  Peace  Jubilees — The  Great  Cities 
— The  Chicago  Fire  —  The  Boston  Fire  —  The  Tweed  Ring- 
Tweed's  Escape  and  Capture — Financial  Condition  of  the  Na 
tion — Ships — Army  and  Navy — Reconstruction,  the  Problem — 
The  Presidential  and  the  Congressional  Plan  —  Iron  Law  of 
March  2,  1867 — The  Process  of  Reconstruction — Situation  in 
1870 — Debate  on  the  Coercion  of  States — Outcome — The  Test 
Oath — All  States  at  Last  again  Represented  in  Both  Houses  of 

Congress 35 

U.  S.     VOL.  8—i. 


2  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK   II. 

GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF. 

The  Republican  Party  in  1870  —  Its  Defects  —  President  Grant's 
Shortcomings  —  His  First  Cabinet  —  The  Party's  Attitude  To 
ward  the  Tariff — Toward  the  Democracy — Toward  Re-enfran 
chisement  at  the  South — The  Liberal  Movement — The  Democrats 
— The  "New  Departure"  Among  Them  —  Vallandigham  —  John 
Quincy  Adams — Reconstruction — Errors  Committed  Therein — 
The  Fifteenth  Amendment— The  Ku-Klux  Klan — The  Force  Bill 
— Re-enfranchisement  at  the  South — Grant  and  the  Nation's  Fi 
nances — Gould  and  Fisk — Black  Friday — The  Treaty  of  Wash 
ington — Relations  with  Cuba — Proposed  "Annexion"  of  Santo 
Domingo — Sumner  and  the  Administration 51 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN. 

The  Rise  of  Horace  Greeley — The  "Tribune" — Greeley  and  Grant 
— The  Liberal  Republican  Movement — 'The  Spoils  System — 
Shepherd  at  Washington — Scandals  Connected  with  the  Collec 
tion  of  the  Revenues — Reversal  of  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold — Grant 
and  Greeley  Nominated — Mixed  Politics — Both  Candidates  Se 
verely  Criticised — A  Choice  of  Evils — A  Bitter  Campaign — 
Difficulties  Confronting  Greeley  —  Grant  Elected  —  Greeley's 
Death — His  Character — Continuation  of  Republican  Policy  at 
the  South — Force  and  Anarchy  in  Louisiana 73 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    GENEVA   AWARD   AND   THE    CREDIT   MOBILIER. 

Outcome  of  the  Washington  Treaty  —  The  "Alabama  Claims" — 
Vain  Efforts  at  Settlement — The  Geneva  Tribunal — Rules  for 
its  Guidance — Questions  Answered  By  It — Its  Decision — The 
Northwestern  Boundary  Settlement — The  Credit  Mobilier  Story 
— Enthusiasm  for  the  West — Vastness  of  that  Section — The  Rush 
Thither — The  Pioneers — Land-Grabbing — Grants  for  Transcon 
tinental  Railways — Inception  of  the  Union  Pacific  Company— 
The  Credit  Mobilier  Company — Oakes  Ames  and  his  Contract 
— Stock  Sold  to  Congressmen — The  "Sun's"  Publication — The 
Facts — Ames's  Defence — Censure  of  Him  by  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  —  His  Death  —  Reasons  for  the  Sentiment  against 
Him 94 


CONTENTS.  o 

CHAPTER    V. 

"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE. 

Grant's  Re-election  and  the  South  —  Court  Decisions  Confirming 
State  Sovereignty — The  Louisiana  "Slaughter-House  Cases"- 
Osborn  vs.  Nicholson — White  vs.  Hart— Desolation  at  the  South 
after  the  War  —  Discouragement  —  Intemperance,  Ignorance — 
Slow  Revival  of  Industry — Social  and  Political  Conflict — The 
"Scalawag"  —  The  "Carpet-Bagger"  —  Good  Carpet-Baggers — 
Their  Failings — Resistance — Northern  Sympathy  With  This — 
The  Freedmen — Their  Vices — Their  Ignorance — Foolish  and  Cor 
rupt  Legislation — Extravagant  Expenditures  in  Various  States 
—In  Mississippi — In  Georgia— In  South  Carolina — Overthrow 
of  Many  Carpet-Bag  Governments — Violence  Still,  but  often 
Exaggerated 1 10 

CHAPTER  VI. 

DECLINE   OF   THE   TRANSITIONAL   GOVERNMENTS   IN   SOUTH 
CAROLINA,  ARKANSAS,  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  LOUISIANA. 

Gen.  Sherman  on  the  Southern  Problem — Reckless  Legislation  in 
South  Carolina — Appeal  of  the  Taxpayers'  Union — Gov.  Cham 
berlain's  Reforms — The  Conflict  in  Arkansas — Factions — The 
Stake  Fought  For — A  New  Constitution — Gov.  Garland  Elected 
— Report  of  the  Poland  Committee — The  Vicksburg  "War" — 
Mayor  vs.  Governor — President  Grant  will  not  Interfere — Sena 
tor  Revels  on  the  Situation — The  Mississippi  Reconstructionists 
— The  Kellogg-McEnery  Imbroglio  in  Louisiana — Metropolitans 
and  White  Leaguers  Fight — The  Kellogg  Government  Overthrown 
but  Re-established  by  Federal  Arms — Protests — The  Election  of 
Nov.  2,  1874 — Methods  of  the  Returning  Board — Gen.  Sheridan 
in  Command — Legislature  Organized  Amid  Bayonets— Members 
Removed  by  Federal  Soldiers — Sheridan's  Views — Allegations 
Contra — Public  Opinion  at  the  North — The  "Wheeler  Adjust 
ment."  .  .  127 


CHAPTER    VII. 

INDIAN  WARS  AND  THE   CUSTER  DEATH. 

Civilized  Indians  in  1874 — Grant's  Policy  for  the  Wild  Tribes — 
Difficulties  of  the  Indian  Commissioners — Indians'  Wrongs  and 
Discontent — Troubles  in  Arizona — Gov.  Safford's  Declaration — 
Massacre  of  Apaches  in  1871 — Report  of  Federal  Grand  Jury — 
The  Apaches  Subdued — Grievances  of  the  Sioux — The  Modoc 


CONTENTS. 

War  and  Gen.  Canby's  Death— Troubles  in  1874— The  Mill  River 
Disaster  in  Massachusetts — The  Sioux  Rebellion — The  Army's 
Plan  of  Campaign — Ouster's  Part — His  Death — How  the  Battle 
Went — "Revenge  of  Rain- in- the- Face" — Ouster  Criticised — And 
Defended .149 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

"THE  YEAR  OF  A  HUNDRED  YEARS"— THE  CENTENNIAL  EX 
POSITION  AND  THE  HAYES-TILDEN  IMBROGLIO. 

Origin  of  the  Centennial  Exposition — Philadelphia  Landmarks — 
The  Exposition  Buildings — The  Opening — The  Various  Exhibits 
— Attendance — A  Political  Crisis — Grant  and  Jewell — The  Bel- 
knap  Disgrace — Another  Reform  Movement — Fear  of  a  Third 
Term  for  Grant — Issues  between  the  Parties — Hayes  and  Til- 
den  Nominated — Their  Letters  of  Acceptance — The  Campaign — 
Prophecy  of  Trouble  over  the  Presidential  Count — The  Twenty- 
second  Joint  Rule — Result  of  the  Election  in  Doubt — Cipher  De 
spatches — Queer  Ways  of  Returning  Boards — Fears  and  Hopes 
— The  Electoral  Commission — The  Case  of  Florida,  of  Louisiana, 
of  Oregon,  of  South  Carolina — Hayes  Declared  Elected — An 
Electoral  Count  Law .169 


CHAPTER   IX. 

HAYES  AND  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

Hayes's  Character — His  Cabinet — End  of  Bayonet  Rule  at  the  South 
— This  the  Result  of  a  "Deal" — "Visiting  Statesmen"  at  the 
Louisiana  Count — Hayes  Favors  Honesty — His  Record — Hayes 
and  Garfield  Compared — The  Spoils  System — Early  Protests — A 
Civil  Service  Commission — Its  Rules — Retrogression  under  Grant 
—Jewell's  Exit  from  the  Cabinet — Hoar's — Butler's  "Pull"  on 
Grant — Collector  Simmons — The  Sanborn  Contracts — Bristow  a 
Reformer — The  Whiskey  Ring — Myron  Colony's  Work — Plot  and 
Counter-Plot — "Let  no  Guilty  Man  Escape"— Reformers  Ousted 
— Good  Work  by  the  Press — The  "Press-Gag"— First  Democratic 
House  Since  the  War  —  Hayes  Renews  Reform  —  Opposed  by 
Conkling — Fight  over  the  New  York  Collectorship — The  Presi 
dent  Firm  and  Victorious 189 

CHAPTER   X. 

"THE  UNITED   STATES   WILL  PAY" 

Back  to  Hard  Money — Act  to  Strengthen  the  Public  Credit— Diffi 
culty  of  Contraction — Ignorance  of  Finance — Debtors  Pinched — 
The  Panic  of  1873 — Causes — Failure  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  and 


CONTENTS.  5 

of  Fiske  &  Hatch — Black  Friday  No.  2— On  Change  and  on  the 
Street — Bulls,  Bears,  and  Banks — Criticism  of  Secretary  Rich 
ardson — First  Use  of  Clearing-House  Certificates — Effects  and 
Duration  of  the  Panic — An  Important  Good  Result — Resumption 
and  Politics  —  The  Resumption  Act  —  Sherman's  Qualifications 
for  Executing  It — His  Firmness — Resumption  Actually  Begun — 
Magnitude  and  Meaning  of  this  Policy — Our  Bonded  Debt  Rap 
idly  Reduced — Legal  Tender  Questions  and  Decisions — Juilliard 
vs.  Greenman  —  The  "Fiat-Greenback"  Heresy  —  "Dollar  of  the 
Fathers"  Demonetized — Not  by  Fraud,  but  Without  Due  Reflec 
tion—The  Bland  Bill  and  the  "Allison  Tip"— The  Amended  Bill 
Vetoed,  but  Passed — Subsequent  Silver  Legislation 210 


CHAPTEK    XI. 

AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS   IN  THE   SEVENTIES. 

The  "Grangers" — Their  Aims — Origin  of  the  Inter- State  Commerce 
Act — Demand  for  Cheap  Transportation — Illinois's  "Three-Cent 
War"  —  Court  Decisions  —  Land-Grant  Colleges  —  Their  Signifi 
cance — Various  Labor  Congresses  and  Platforms — Rise  of  Labor 
Bureaus — The  National  Department  of  Labor — Its  Work,  Meth 
ods,  and  Influence  —  Value  of  the  State  Bureaus  —  Contract- 
Labor  Law — The  Greenback  Party — Peter  Cooper  and  Gen.  But 
ler — Violence  in  the  Labor  Conflict — Causes — Combinations  of 
Capital — Of  Laborers — Black  List  and  Boycott — Labor  War  in 
Pennsylvania — Methods  of  Intimidation — The  "Molly  Maguires" 
— Murder  of  Alexander  Rea — Power  and  Immunity  of  the  Mol 
lies — Plan  for  Exposing  Them — Gowen  and  McParlan — Assassi 
nation  of  Thomas  Sanger — Gowen's  Triumph  and  the  Collapse 
of  the  Conspiracy — Great  Railway  Strike  in  1877 — Riot  at  Pitts- 
burg  —  Death  and  Destruction  —  Scenes  at  Reading  and  Other 
Places — Strikes  Common  from  this  Time  On.  .  ,  232 


CHAPTER   XII. 

ANYTHING   TO   BEAT   GRANT. 

Presidential  Possibilities  in  1880 — Grant  the  Lion — Republican  Con 
vention — A  Political  Battle  of  the  Wilderness — Garfield  the  Dark 
Horse  —  Grant's  Old  Guard  Defeated  but  Defiant  —  Democrats 
Nominate  Hancock — "The  Ins  and  the  Outs" — Party  Declara 
tions — The  Morey  Forgery — Blaine  Can't  Save  Maine — Conkling's 
Strike  Off — Garfield  Elected — "Soap"  vs.  Intimidation  and  Fraud 
— From  Mule  Boy  to  President — Hancock's  Brilliant  Career — 
The  First  Presidential  Appointments — Conkling's  Frenzy  and  His 
Fall— The  Cabinet — Garfield  Assassinated— Guiteau  Tried  and 
Hanged— Star  Route  Frauds— Pendleton  Civil  Service  Act 251 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

DOMESTIC  EVENTS  DURING  MR.  ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Mr.  Arthur's  Dilemma — His  Accession — Responsibility  Evokes  His 
Best  —  The  Presidential  Succession  Question  —  Succession  Act 
Passed — Electoral  Count  Act  Passed — Arthur's  Cabinet — Con 
dition  of  the  Country  in  1881 — Decadence  of  Our  Ocean  Carrying 
—Tariff  Commission  of  1882  and  the  Tariff  of  1883— Mahone 
and  the  Virginia  "Readjustees" — Mahone's  Record — His  Entry 
Into  the  Senate — President  Arthur  and  the  Chinese — Origin  of 
the  Chinese  Question — Anson  Burlingame — The  1878  Embassy 
— Chinese  Throng  Hither— Early  California — The  Strike  of  1877 
Affects  California — Rise  and  Character  of  Denis  Kearney — His 
Programme — The  "Sand-Lot"  Campaign — Kearney's  Moderation 
— He  is  Courted — And  Opposed — His  Constitutional  Convention 
— Its  Work — Kearneyism  to  the  Rear — The  James  Desperadoes — 
Their  Capture — The  Yorktown  Celebration — Mementoes  of  Old 
Yorktown — The  Pageant — "Surrender"  Day — The  Other  Days — 
Close  of  the  Fete — Flood  and  Riot  in  Cincinnati .  273 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

MONROE'S  DOCTRINE   AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE. 

Uncle  Sam  in  Africa — The  Brussels  Conference  of  1876 — Congress 
of  1877— The  United  States  Represented — Henry  M.  Stanley— 
His  Career — His  Fame — Darkest  Africa — The  Congo  Free  State 
—The  United  States  Helps  in  its  Formation — Scramble  for  "a 
Piece  of  Africa" — Arthur's  Policy  Criticised — Berlin  Conference 
of  1884  —  Its  Objects  —  Its  Results  —  De  Lesseps  at  Panama — 
Origin  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty — Its  Provisions — Its  Resur 
rection  in  1880 — President  Hayes's  Attitude— Elaine's  Contro 
versy  with  Lord  Granville — Frelinghuysen's  Contentions — Great 
Britain's  Position — Blaine  Criticised  at  Home — De  Lesseps's  Fail 
ure  at  Panama — Early  Plans  for  Piercing  the  Isthmus — The  Nic 
aragua  Canal  Scheme  —  Joys  and  Troubles  in  Nicaragua — 
Congressmen  Favor  United  States  Aid  for  the  Enterprise 
—Description  of  the  Proposed  Canal  —  Difficulties  and  Cost — 
Feasibility  and  Profitableness  —  Opposition  —  Growing  Intimacy 
between  the  United  States  and  Spanish  America — The  Commis 
sion  of  1884 — Panama  Congress  of  1825— John  Quincy  Adams 
and  Clay — Later  Efforts  at  a  Pan-American  Union — Trepidation 
at  Walker's  Filibustering  Expeditions  —  Union  Movements  in 
1864,  1877,  1880,  1881,  and  1888— David  Davis  Proposes  a  Cen 
tral  and  South  American  Railway — Frelinghuysen's  Suggestions 
—The  Congress  of  1889-90 — Scope  of  its  Possible  Deliberations — 
The  Delegates'  "Junket"  Across  the  Continent — Difficulties  and 
Misunderstandings — The  Reciprocity  Idea — Outcome  Meagre  . .  298 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER  XV. 

"FARTHEST  NORTH." 

The  Jeannette  Expedition — Its  Officers — Its  Plan— The  Start— Sus 
pense  and  Search — Rumors — Tidings  at  Last — Course  and  Fate 
of  the  Expedition — Melville  Finds  Nindeman  and  Noros — De- 
Long's  End — His  Journal — New  Polar  Research — The  Greely 
Expedition — The  Proteus's  Passage  Out — The  Neptune's  Effort 
at  Relief — The  Garlington  Cruise  in  1883 — Wreck  of  the  Proteus 
— Greely  Meantime — Expedition  of  1884 — Schley's  Enterprise — 
"News  from  Greely" — His  Discoveries — "Farthest  North" — Ex 
periences  of  His  Band  in  the  Arctic  Regions  —  Their  Course 
Southward — Could  Any  of  Them  be  Alive?— The  Thetis  to  the 
Rescue — Seven  Starving  Survivors — Life  at  Starvation  Camp — 
Efforts  for  the  English  Meat — Rice's  Death  and  Frederick's  Hero 
ism — The  Death  Roll — Rescue  of  the  Seven — Their  Condition 
— Homeward  Bound — Arrival — No  Official  Praise — The  Surviv 
ors  Subsequently  —  Peary  on  Greenland's  Icy  Mountains  —  He 
Crosses  Greenland  in  1892 — Geographical  Discoveries — Peary's 
1894-95  Tour— Value  of  These  Explorations 316 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST. 

The  New  Orleans  Cotton  Centennial — Buildings,  Exhibits,  and  In 
fluence — Political  Situation  in  1884 — Presidential  Candidates — 
Rise  of  James  G.  Elaine — Charges  Against  Him — His  Prospects 
in  1876 — Investigation  of  His  Record — The  Mulligan  Letters — 
Dramatic  Self- Vindication  Before  the  House — Blaine  and  Knott 
— Blaine  in  Garfield's  Cabinet — Peru  and  Chile — Blaine  in  Ad 
vance  of  His  Party  —  Republican  Convention  of  1884  —  Lynch 
made  Temporary  Chairman  —  Effort  to  Unite  upon  Arthur — 
Scenes  in  the  Convention  upon  Elaine's  Nomination — The  Mug 
wumps  Bolt  —  Grover  Cleveland  —  His  Youth,  Education,  and 
Early  Official  Life — Governor  of  New  York — Nominated  by  the 
Democratic  National  Convention — The  Mugwumps  Declare  for 
Cleveland  —  Charges  against  Blaine  —  How  Far  True — "Rum, 
Romanism,  and  Rebellion"— Hendricks  Pacifies  Tammany— Cleve 
land  Victorious .  337 


THE    UNITED    STATES    IN    PROCESS   OF 
RECONSTRUCTION. 


Accession  of  Andrew  Johnson — Disbanding  the  Federal  Armies — 
Proclamation  of  Peace — Cost  of  the  War — Status  of  the  Late 
Confederate  States  —  The  Thirteenth  Amendment  —  President's 
Plan  of  Reconstruction,  and  Steps  Before  His  First  Annual 
Message — Congressional  Plan — Inevitable  Conflict  between  the 
President  and  Congress — The  Freedmen's  Bureau — Evil  Effects — 
Supplementary  Freedmen's  Bureau  Act  Vetoed — Indiscreet  Con 
duct  of  the  President — First  Civil  Rights  Act — Veto  Overridden 
— Congress  Proposes  the  Fourteenth  Amendment — Tennessee  Re 
admitted — Johnson's  Second  Annual  Message — The  First  Recon 
struction  Act  and  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act — The  Veto  and  Ac 
companying  Argument — Veto  Overridden — Supplementary  Re 
construction  Laws — Veto  Ineffectual — South  Invaded  by  Civil 
Adventurers,  "Carpet-Baggers" — Stanton  Suspended — Congress 
Restores  Him  to  Office — Johnson  Defies  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act 
— Attempt  at  Impeachment  of  the  President — Failure — Presi 
dential  Nominations — Grant — Seymour — Grant  Elected — Con 
gress  Proposes  the  Fifteenth  Amendment — The  End  of  Recon 
struction. 

THE  affairs  of  the  distracted  nation  were  in  the  utmost 
confusion  when  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln  placed  the  Vice- 
President,  Andrew  Johnson,  in  the  chair  of  State — (April 
15,  1865).  General  Lee  had  made  his  surrender  to  General 
Grant  in  the  memorable  meeting  at  the  village  of  Appomattox 
Court  House  on  April  9,  1865,  and  the  evacuation  of  Rich 
mond  had  followed  speedily.  It  was  the  general  feeling  that 
these  two  events  marked  the  end  of  the  war,  though  the  proc 
ess  of  surrender  was  not  fully  completed  until  May  26,  1865, 
when  General  E.  Kirby  Smith  and  the  last  ragged  remnant 
of  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy  yielded  and  received  from 
General  Canby  the  same  generous  terms  which  had  been 
accorded  to  the  other  Confederate  armies.  A  few  days  be 
fore  this  last  surrender  the  two  vast  armies  of  Grant  and 
Sherman  reached  Washington  on  their  homeward  march.  A 

(9) 


10  .  /  .     THE  UNITED  STATES 

temporary  platform  had  been  erected  in  front  of  the  White 
House  from  which  the  new  President  and  his  friends  and  as 
sociates  witnessed  the  last  grand  review,  from  which,  after  a 
two  days'  pageant,  the  troops  marched  away  to  their  respec 
tive  States  to  be  mustered  out. 

There  might  well  have  been  great  anxiety  over  the  thought 
that  about  a  million  soldiers  would  shortly  be  turned  loose 
upon  society,  but  the  process  was  completed1  within  a  year, 
and  the  soldiers  were  immediately  transformed  into  peace 
ful  citizens  such  as  they  had  been  before  the  conflict  opened. 
On  June  13,  1865,  President  Johnson  issued  his  proclama 
tion  announcing  that  "peace,  order,  tranquillity,  and  civil 
authority  now  exist  in  and  throughout  the  whole  of  the  United 
States  of  America,77  and  the  nation  turned  to  face  the  serious 
problems  of  peace. 

The  national  debt  was  enormous,  aggregating  $2,850,000,- 
000,  to  which  must  be  added  the  expenses  of  the  Confederacy, 
the  value  of  property  destroyed  during  the  war,  the  expenses 
and  debts  of  States,  cities,  and  towns,  and  the  payment  of 
pensions,  before  any  approximate  estimate  of  the  total  cost 
of  the  war  is  attained.  When  we  add  to  all  this  the  enormous 
loss  of  productive  energy  and  the  loss  of  about  300,000  sol 
diers  upon  each  side  we  have  a  dim  idea  of  the  price  which 
had  to  be  paid  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  of  States.  The 
war  appropriations  of  the  Federal  Government  for  the  fiscal 
year  1865  reached  the  appalling  sum  of  $500,000,000;  but 
these  estimates  for  the  year  1866  were  cut  down  to  $33,000,- 
000,  and  the  Treasury  Department  at  once  took  up  the  prob 
lem  of  reducing  the  national  debt,  devoting  to  this  purpose 
the  surplus  produced  by  the  taxes  on  imported  goods  which 
it  was  thought  best  not  to  reduce  for  fear  of  inviting  foreign 
competition  in  the  line  of  manufactures.  But  the  enormous 
financial  problems  which  the  war  had  produced  were  reckoned 
of  small  moment  compared  with  the  great  question  of  how 

1  The  Federal  troops  were  paid  off  and  discharged  at  the  rate  of 
about  300,000  a  month,  until  almost  all  had  returned  to  private  life. 
About  50,000  were  kept  as  a  standing  army. 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  11 

the  seceding  States,  now  conquered  and  subdued,  were  to  be 
readmitted  to  the  Union  from  which  they  had  departed  or 
claimed  to  have  departed.  And  in  what  light  they  should  be 
regarded  during  the  period  which  must  of  necessity  intervene 
before  their  readmission.  Were  they  still  States  of  the  Union, 
merely  "out  of  their  proper  practical  relation  with  the 
Union/'  as  Lincoln  had  described  them — or  were  they  merely 
conquered  territory  subject,  like  any  other  territory,  to  the 
will  of  Congress  ? 

Another  complicated  set  of  questions  also  presented  itself. 
Lincoln  had  issued  his  Emancipation  Proclamation  giving 
freedom  to  slaves  in  portions  of  the  United  States  then  in 
insurrection,  but  this  could  not  be  stretched  to  give  freedom 
to  all  slaves,  even  those  in  Union  Territory  and  Union  States. 
It  furthermore  could  not  be  considered  as  legally  abolishing 
slavery  as  an  institution  in  any  part  of  the  country.  As  the 
institution  of  slavery  was  recognized  by  the  Constitution  it 
could  only  be  legally  abolished  by  changing  the  Constitution. 
That  must  be  done,  not  by  proclamation,  but  by  the  regular 
method  provided  in  that  document  itself. 

To  accomplish  this  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  had  been 
proposed  to  Congress.  At  first  it  had  been  rejected,  but  in 
January,  1865,  about  three  months  before  Lincoln's  death,  it 
had  passed  Congress  by  the  requisite  two-thirds  vote.  It  was 
thus  before  the  State  Legislatures  when  Johnson  became  Presi 
dent,  and  it  was  still  before  them  when  he  sent  to  Congress  his 
First  Annual  Message  (December  4,  1865).  It  therefore 
mattered  a  great  deal  in  what  light  the  seceding  States  were 
to  be  regarded.  If  the  States  had  never  been  out  of  the  Union 
it  was  necessary  that  some  of  the  seceding  States  should  vote 
to  accept  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  before  it  could  become 
operative.  But  if  they  were  out  of  the  Union  and  were  de 
pendent  upon  the  consent  of  Congress  for  getting  back,  they 
might  easily  be  forced  to  adopt  the  amendment  as  the  price 
of  readmission.  President  Johnson's  position  upon  this  point 
was  made  quite  clear  in  his  First  Annual  Message  to  Con 
gress.  "Whether  the  territory  within  the  limits  of  those 


12  THE  UNITED  STATES 

States,"  he  says,  "should  be  held  as  conquered  territory,  under 
military  authority  emanating  from  the  President  as  the  head 
of  the  army,  was  the  first  question  that  presented  itself  for 
decision." 

He  then  explains  his  own  objections  to  such  military  gov 
ernment  which  "would  have  envemoned  hatred  rather  than 
have  restored  affection.  Once  established,"  he  continues,  "no 
precise  limits  to  their  continuance  was  conceivable."  They 
would  have  proved  of  incalculable  expense  and  would  have 
checked  "peaceful  emigration  to  and  from  that  portion  of  the 
country  .  .  .  for  .  .  .  what  industrial  citizen  .  .  .  would 
place  himself  willingly  under  military  rule.  .  .  ?" 

k  .  .  .  The  chief  persons  who  would  have  followed  in  the 
train  of  the  army  would  have  been  dependants  on  the  Gen 
eral  Government  or  men  who  expected  profit  from  the  mis 
eries  of  their  erring  fellow-citizens."  This  military  rule 
over  a  conquered  territory,  he  further  explains,  would  have 
implied  that  the  seceding  States  had  ceased  to  exist.  "But 
the  true  theory  is  that  all  pretended  acts  of  secession  were 
from  the  beginning  null  and  void.  .  .  ."  "The  States  at 
tempting  to  secede  placed  themselves  in  a  condition  where 
their  vitality  was  impaired,  but  not  extinguished ;  their  func 
tions  suspended,  but  not  destroyed."  1  In  this  message  Presi 
dent  Johnson  seems  to  have  assumed  that  the  danger  of  mili 
tary  government  being  forced  upon  the  South  has  been  hap 
pily  averted,  and  in  the  remainder  of  the  message  he  pro 
ceeds  to  explain  to  Congress  what  he  has  done  toward  bring 
ing  the  States  again  to  the  point  where  their  suspended  func 
tions  could  be  resumed.  "The  next  step,"  he  says,  "which  I 
have  taken  to  restore  the  Constitutional  relations  of  the 
States  has  been  an  invitation  to  them  to  participate  in  the 
high  office  of  amending  the  Constitution.  ..."  "The  people 
of  !N"orth  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mis- 


1  Lincoln's  method  of  expressing  this  same  idea  was  by  saying  that 
the  States  were  "out  of  their  proper  practical  relation  with  the  Union." 
The  sole  object  of  the  Government,  he  continues,  should  be  "to  again 
get  them  into  that  proper  practical  relation." — Address  of  April  11,  1865. 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  13 

sissippi,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and  Tennessee  have  reorganized 
their  respective  State  governments,  and  are  yielding  obedience 
to  the  laws  and  government  of  the  United  States.  .  .  . 

"The  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  providing 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery  forever  within  the  limits  of  the 
country,  has  been  ratified  by  each  one  of  those  States,  with 
the  exception  of  Mississippi,  from  which  no  official  informa 
tion  has  been  received,  and  in  nearly  all  of  them  measures 
have  been  adopted  or  are  now  pending  to  confer  upon  freed- 
men  the  privileges  which  are  essential  to  their  comfort,  pro 
tection,  and  security."  "In  Florida  and  Texas,"  he  adds, 
"the  people  are  making  commendable  progress  in  restoring 
their  State  governments,  and  no  doubt  is  entertained  that  they 
will  at  an  early  period  be  in  a  condition  to  resume  all  of  their 
practical  relations  with  the  General  Government."  Thus,  fol 
lowing  pretty  closely  Lincoln's  ideas  upon  Reconstruction, 
Johnson  had  succeeded  in  reorganizing  all  the  States  which 
Lincoln's  death  had  found  still  disorganized,1  Florida  and 
Texas  excepted,  and  he  naturally  felt  that  his  plan,  the  plan 
inherited  from  his  predecessor,  was  successful  and  should 
be  continued  until  a  complete  reconstruction  of  the  Federal 
Union  should  be  accomplished. 

Congress  was  not  disposed,  however,  to  agree  with  the 
President  upon  this  point.  But,  whatever  the  disagreements 
concerning  future  plans,  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  at  least 
was  safe,  the  ratification  of  twenty-seven  States  being  sufficient 
to  make  it  a  part  of  the  Constitution.9  It  legally  abolished 

1  As  early  as  December,    1863,  Lincoln  liad   issued   a   proclamation 
offering  the  pardon  of  the  Government  to  all  persons    (certain  specified 
classes  excepted)  who  should  swear  to  support  the  Federal  Constitution 
and  the  Laws  and  Proclamations  for  the  emancipation  of  slaves.     He 
had  further  promised  that  when  one-tenth  of  the  voters  of  any  State 
should  comply  with  these  conditions  and  set  up  a   State  government, 
republican  in  form,  the  Federal  Government  would  recognize  it  as  the 
legal  government  of  the  State. 

Upon  these  terms  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  and  Tennessee  had  been 
recognized  in  1864;  but  Congress  had  declined  to  allow  their  electoral 
votes  to  be  counted  in  the  Presidential  election  of  that  year. 

2  Mr.  Seward,  in  announcing  the  adoption  of  the  Thirteenth  Amend 
ment,  declared  that  there  were  thirty-six  States  in  the  Union,  and  that 


14  THE   UNITED  STATES 

the  institution  of  slavery  in  every  foot  of  territory  within  the 
United  States,  even  in  Kentucky  and  Delaware,  which  had 
not  been  affected  by  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  had 
adopted  no  plan  of  emancipation,  and  had  not  ratified  the 
Thirteenth  Amendment.  The  mere  fact,  however,  of  having 
given  assent  to  the  amendment  abolishing  slavery,  and  adopt 
ing  State  Constitutions  republican  in  form  did  not  satisfy 
Congress.  The  Republican  majority  in  Congress  felt  very 
strongly  that  such  guarantees  were  by  no  means  sufficient. 
There  must  be  some  adequate  means  of  affording  protection 
to  the  new  and  ignorant  class  of  freedmen  which  Lincoln's 
Proclamation,  made  legal  by  the  Thirteenth  Amendment,  had 
turned  loose  upon  society.  They  were  convinced  of  this  by 
the  fact  that  the  Southern  people,  believing  that  the  negroes 
would  not  work  now  that  the  lash  of  the  overseer  was  re 
moved,  had  passed  laws  designed  to  force  them  to  work  under 
penalty  of  being  declared  vagrants  and  being  sent  to  hard 
labor  in  the  prisons. 

To  the  Republican  majority  in  Congress  such  laws  seemed 
designed  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  South  to  set  up 
again  the  slave  system  under  a  new  name,  and  they  were  de 
termined  to  use  their  power  in  Congress  to  prevent  this.  Ac 
cordingly  they  began  the  session  by  refusing  to  admit  any 
members  from  the  seceding  States  and  ordered  the  clerk  to 
omit  their  names  from  the  roll-call.  The  President,  although 
a  hearty  Union  man,1  was  a  Southerner  of  the  class  known 
as  "poor  whites."  Disliking  the  leading  classes  of  the  South, 
he,  however,  had  no  enthusiasm  for  the  negro  and  was  deter- 


twenty-seven  (just  three-fourths)  of  these  had  voted,  through  their 
Legislatures,  to  adopt  it.  Among  those  twenty- seven,  he  counted  Vir 
ginia,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  and  Alabama.  In  counting  these  as  States,  Mr.  Seward  fol 
lowed  the  President's  plan  of  Reconstruction,  and  encouraged  those 
States  to  hope  for  a  speedy  readmission  of  their  Senators  and  Repre 
sentatives  to  Congress. 

1  He  had  expressed  a  great  desire  to  hang  some  of  the  leaders  in  the 
Confederate  army,  and  his  first  act  as  President  had  been  to  offer  re 
wards  for  the  capture  of  Jefferson  Davis  and  other  Southern  leaders, 
upon  the  absurd  charge  of  complicity  in  Lincoln's  assassination. 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  15 

mined  in  his  desire  to  conduct  the  process  of  reconstruction 
according  to  his  own  ideas.  He  believed  that  the  Republican 
majority  had  no  more  right  to  refuse  admission  to  the  repre 
sentatives  of  the  reorganized  Southern  States  than  those 
States  had  to  leave  the  Union.1  And  he  resolved  to  exert  his 
utmost  power  to  prevent  them  from  exercising  undue  rigor  or 
severity  in  dealing  with  the  South.  There  was  therefore  from 
the  very  beginning  of  his  first  Congress  an  increasing  ill- 
feeling  between  the  President  and  the  majority  of  his  Leg 
islature,  an  ill-feeling  which  was  the  cause  of  many  evils 
which  would  certainly  have  been  avoided  had  President  John 
son  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  possessed  half  the  tact  and 
executive  ability  which  so  distinguished  his  predecessor.  With 
a  Republican  majority  against  him  strong  enough  if  united 
to  override  his  vetoes,  and  with  a  stubborn  and  unattractive 
personality  admirably  calculated  to  cause  them  to  unite,  the 
position  of  President  Johnson  was  from  the  very  first  almost 
helpless. 

Aside  from  protecting  the  freedmen  from  unjust  and  op 
pressive  laws,  the  majority  of  Congress  cherished  from  the 
first  two  leading  ideas.  The  freedmen  must  be  allowed  the 
privilege  of  suffrage,  and  the  Southerners  who  had  taken  part 
in  the  Rebellion— practically  the  whole  respectable  element 
in  the  most  of  the  South — must  not  be  allowed  this  privilege. 
From  these  two  ideas  vigorously  followed  up  arose  most  of 
the  evils  which  have  caused  Southerners  to  despise  the  very 
name  of  Reconstruction. 

In  carrying  out  these  ideas  it  was  necessary  for  Congress 
to  do  the  very  thing  which  President  Johnson  in  his  opening 
message  had  congratulated  himself  upon  avoiding.  They  must 
put  the  South  under  a  military  government.  The  first  step 
in  this  direction  had  been  taken  the  day  before  Lincoln's 


1  Among  the  Southern  Senators  and  Representatives  who  were  de 
manding  admission  to  seats  in  Congress,  were  many  who,  within  the 
past  twelve  months,  had  been  in  arms  against  the  United  States.  Even 
the  late  Vice-President  of  the  Confederacy,  Alexander  H.  Stevens,  was 
among  them. 


16  THE  UNITED  STATES 

second  inauguration  (March  3,  1865),  when  a  plan  for  estab 
lishing  a  bureau  of  emancipation,  which  had  been  under  con 
sideration  since  December  22,  1863,  was  finally  carried  into 
execution  by  the  passage  of  "an  act  to  establish  a  Bureau  for 
the  relief  of  Freedmen  and  Refugees." 

It  provided  "that  there  is  hereby  established  in  the1  War 
Department,  to  continue  during  the  present  War  of  Rebel 
lion,  and  for  one  year  thereafter,  a  bureau  for  refugees,  freed- 
men,  and  abandoned  lands,  to  which  shall  be  committed,  as 
hereinafter  provided,  the  supervision  and  management  of  all 
abandoned  lands,  and  the  control  of  all  subjects  relating  to 
refugees  and  freedmen  from  rebel  States,  or  from  any  dis 
trict  of  country  within  the  territory  embraced  in  the  opera 
tions  of  the  army.  .  .  ."  This  bureau  was  officered  by  a 
chief  commissioner  and  several  assistant  commissioners  from 
each  of  the  rebel  States.  These  officers  were  to  take  posses 
sion  of  abandoned  lands  in  these  States,  and  certain  other 
lands  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  divide  them  among 
loyal  male  refugees  and  freedmen,  giving  not  more  than  40 
acres  to  each.1  They  were  furthermore  to  protect  such  re 
cipients  of  their  bounty  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  this 
land  for  a  period  of  three  years,  and  to  issue,  under  direc 
tion  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  clothes,  fuel,  and  provisions  to 
such  freedmen  and  refugees  as  were  destitute.  The  law  was 
designed  to  be  beneficent  and  tide  over  the  period  when  the 
freedmen,  in  the  confusion  of  their  new  liberty,  were  likely  to 
suffer  from  a  lack  of  the  protection  and  support  which  their 
masters  had  formerly  given.  It  proved, however,  a  severe  stum 
bling  block  in  the  way  of  the  progress  of  the  negroes.  Thrown 
on  their  own  resources,  they  would  undoubtedly  have  suffered 
great  hardship,  but  this  law  as  administered  had  a  far  worse 
effect.  It  early  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  freedmen  the 
idea  that  the  Government  was  going  to  furnish  what  their 
masters  had  formerly  furnished  but  without  requiring  any 
labor  or  service  in  return.  They  gathered  about  the  depots 

1  A  rental  not  exceeding  six  per  cent  a  year  upon  the  ascertained 
value  of  the  land  was  to  be  collected  from  the  tenant. 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  17 

of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  as  the  old  Romans  gathered  about 
the  public  granaries  after  the  passage  of  the  corn  laws,  happy 
in  the  thought  that  their  needs  would  evermore  be  supplied 
by  the  kind  hand  which  had  broken  their  shackles. 

It  was  in  the  face  of  such  effects  as  these  that  the  reor 
ganized  States  had  felt  called  upon  to  pass  the  vagrant  laws, 
the  laws  of  apprenticeship  and  such  acts  which  the  Republi 
can  majority  in  Congress  had  interpreted  as  an  attempt  to  re 
store  slavery. 

The  operation  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  pleased  the  Re 
publican  majority  in  Congress,  and  in  February,  1866,  they 
mustered  energy  to  pass  an  act  to  continue  it  in  force  and 
greatly  enlarge  its  scope.  On  February  10,  1866,  it  was  sent 
to  the  President,  who  (February  19)  returned  it  with  a  care 
fully  prepared  and  exceedingly  able  explanation  of  his  rea 
sons  for  exercising  his  Constitutional  right  of  veto.  The 
friends  of  the  measure  made  a  vigorous  effort  to  pass  the  bill 
over  the  President's  veto,  but  his  clear  argument  had  con 
vinced  enough  of  the  Senators  to  prevent  this. 

The  President,  however,  made  a  most  injudicious  use  of 
his  victory.  His  strictures  upon  Congress  were  so  severe  as  to 
alienate  some  of  the  very  men  who  had  just  sustained  him. 
On  the  evening  of  February  22d,  a  crowd  assembled  before 
the  White  House  to  congratulate  him  upon  his  victory.  Car 
ried  away  apparently  by  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  he 
launched  forth  into  a  bitter  tirade  against  the  men  who  had 
opposed  him,  declaring  that  Stevens,  Sumner,  Phillips,  and 
others  of  their  class  were  laboring  as  strenuously  to  break 
down  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Government  as  ever 
the  leaders  of  the  Rebellion  had  labored  for  that  purpose. 

Such  indiscretion  could  have  but  one  effect.  It  lessened 
confidence  in  his  judgment  and  spurred  the  Republican  ma 
jority  into  more  determined  and  persistent  hostility  to  him. 
This  hostility  they  shortly  expressed  in  a  joint  resolution 
declaring  that  no  Senator  or  Representative  from  any  of  the 
rebel  States  would  be  allowed  a  seat  in  either  House  until 
Congress  had  voluntarily  declared  it  entitled  to  representa- 


18  THE   UNITED   STATES 

tion.  Having  thus  in  effect  pronounced  against  all  the  Presi 
dent's  plans  for  reconstruction  by  definitely  reserving  to 
themselves  the  final  judgment  in  the  matter,  they  turned  to 
the  task  of  carrying  out  the  programme  of  their  own  Com 
mittee  on  Reconstruction  with  an  eagerness  heightened  by 
increased  animosity  toward  the  President. 

As  the  next  item  on  that  programme  they  passed  (March 
13,  1866)  "the  First  Civil  Rights  Act,"  declaring  "that  all 
persons  bom  in  the  United  States  and  not  subject  to  any 
foreign  power,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  are  hereby  de 
clared  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  and  such  citizens, 
of  every  race  and  color,  without  regard  to  any  previous  con 
dition  of  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude''  shall  enjoy  the 
same  rights  under  the  law,  and  be  liable  only  to  like  pun 
ishments  under  it.  It  denounced  severe  penalties  against 
interference  with  the  civil  rights  of  any  class  of  citizens, 
and  gave  to  officers  of  the  Federal  Government  the  right  to 
prosecute  and  to  the  Federal  Courts  alone  the  right  to  try 
all  cases  involving  such  offences.  The  object  of  the  bill  was 
clearly  to  put  the  freedmen  upon  a  basis  of  civil  equality 
with  the  whites  in  the  South. 

It  was  a  bill  which  was  not  inconsistent  with  the  Presi 
dent's  plan  of  reconstruction,  and  he  might  easily  have  made 
a  good  stroke  of  policy  by  acting  in  harmony  with  the  hos 
tile  majority,  but  he  chose  to  veto  it,  and  in  so  doing  he 
lost  his  last  chance  of  regaining  the  position  of  influence 
over  the  less  radical  members  of  the  Senate  which  his  hasty 
and  ill-guarded  language  had  lost  him,  and  at  the  same  time 
he  accomplished  nothing  of  value.  His  veto  only  served  to 
encourage  the  South  in  their  natural  desire  to  thwart  the 
project  of  giving  equal  civil  rights  to  freedmen,  and  their 
increased  activity  in  this  direction  only  drove  the  Repub 
lican  majority  more  surely  in  the  direction  of  using  their 
dominant  power  to  so  amend  the  Constitution  as  definitely 
to  perpetuate  the  idea  of  negro  suffrage,  which,  under  ex 
isting  disqualifications,  of  course  meant  negro  domination, 
His  veto  was  wholly  ineffective,  for  the  Senate,  on  April  6th, 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  19 

passed  the  bill  over  the  head  of  the  President  and  three  days 
later  the  House  followed  their  example. 

This  conflict  over,  the  Republican  majority  at  once 
turned  its  attention  to  so  amending  the  Constitution  as  to 
give  explicit  sanction  to  the  ideas  contained  in  the  Civil 
Eights  Bill,  for,  although  the  President  had  not  denied  that 
the  provisions  of  that  bill  might  safely  rest  upon  the  Thir 
teenth  Amendment,  neither  the  Democrats  in  Congress  nor 
the  Southerners  seeking  seats  in  Congress  had  agreed  with 
him  in  this.  This  was  done  by  passing  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  in  which  Congress 
proposed  to  the  States  to  make  explicit  in  the  Constitution 
the  principles  already  embodied  in  the  Civil  Rights  Bill, 
whose  constitutionality  had  been  questioned.  The  two-thirds 
majority  required  by  Congress  for  amendments  which  it 
wishes  to  propose  to  the  States  was  easily  obtained,  which, 
according  to  the  established  custom  of  the  nation,  made  it 
unnecessary  for  the  amendment  to  be  sent  to  the  President 
at  all. 

Of  course  the  President  resented  this,  as  he  was  now  in 
a  mood  to  resent  almost  every  action  of  the  hostile  majority, 
and  set  himself  to  the  task  of  persuading  the  States  to 
reject  it. 

Seward  sent  the  Amendment  to  the  Legislatures  of  all 
the  States,  loyal  and  unreconstructed  alike  (on  June  16, 
1866),  inviting  their  action  upon  it,  thus  recognizing,  so 
far  as  the  Executive  branch  of  the  Government  could  do 
so,  their  status  as  States. 

Tennessee  alone,  of  the  States  which  had  belonged  to  the 
Confederacy,  promptly  accepted  this  Amendment,1  as  she 
had  already  accepted  the  Thirteenth,  and  Congress  at  once 
passed  (July  24,  1866)  a  "joint  resolution  restoring  Ten- 


1  Before  January  1,  18(17,  all  of  the  "President's  Reconstructed 
States,"  except  three,  had  rejected  it  by  overwhelming  majorities,  and 
these  three  soon  followed  their  example.  It  was  believed  in  Washing 
ton  that  they  had  contemptuously  rejected  the  Amendment,  and  had  done 
so  under  the  advice  of  the  President. 


20  THE  UNITED  STATES 

nessee  to  her  relations  to  the  Union."  The  President  signed 
the  resolution,  pointing  out  as  he  did  so  the  absurdity  of 
submitting  constitutional  amendments  to  bodies  which  had 
not  the  status  of  States  in  the  Union.1 

When  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  reassembled  in  Decem 
ber,  1866,  it  was  known  that  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
had  been  rejected  by  most  of  the  Southern  States,  and  it 
was  also  evident,  from  the  favorable  results  of  the  late 
uSTovember  elections,  which  had  added  greatly  to  the  power 
of  the  dominant  majority,  that  the  Northern.  States  were 
disposed  to  favor  the  Congressional  plan  of  reconstruction. 

On  December  3,  1866,  President  Johnson's  Second  An 
nual  Message  was  presented,  in  which  he  lamented  the  fact 
"that  Congress  has  thus  far  failed  to  admit  to  seats  loyal 
Senators  and  Representatives  from  the  other  States,  whose 
inhabitants,  with  those  of  Tennessee,  had  engaged  in  the 
Rebellion.  Ten  States/'  he  continues,  "more  than  one- 
fourth  of  the  whole  number,  remain  without  representation ; 
the  seats  of  fifty  members  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  of  twenty  members  in  the  Senate  are  yet  vacant,  not 
by  their  own  consent,  not  by  a  failure  of  election,  but  by 
the  refusal  of  Congress  to  accept  their  credentials."2 

Congress,  however,  paid  little  attention  to  his  complaints 
or  recommendations.  They  had  practically  required  tho 

1  Only  about  a  week  before  this  the  President  had  again   (July  16, 
1866)    vetoed  a  bill  continuing  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  for  two  years; 
and  had  suffered  the  mortification  of  having  it  passed  over  his  veto  on 
the  same  day.     This  bill  provided  for  sale  of  public  lands  to  negroes  on 
easy   terms,    appropriated   property   confiscated    from    the    Confederate 
Government  to  their  education,  and  placed  their  civil  rights  under  strict 
military  protection. 

2  In  the  message  the  President  made  two  announcements  of  great 
significance  to  the  business  interests  of  the  country.     The  first  was  "the 
entire  success  of  the  Atlantic  telegraph  between  the  coast  of  Ireland 
and   the   Province   of  Newfoundland."      The   second   declares:    "It  will 
hardly  be  necessary  to  call  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  subject  of 
providing  for  the  payment  to  Russia  of  the  sum  stipulated  in  the  treaty 
for  the  cession  of  Alaska.     Possession  having  been  formally  delivered 
to  our  Commissioners,  the  territory  remains  for  the  present  in  care  of 
a  military  force,  awaiting  such  civil  organization  as  shall  be  directed 
by  Congress." 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  21 

adoption  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  as  a  condition  for 
the  admission  of  Tennessee,  and  they  were  firm  in  the 
conviction  that  "more  might  be  righteously  required  of  the 
others,  but  not  less.7'  As  to  the  President,  they  thoroughly 
distrusted  him1  and  were  determined  to  limit  his  power  as 
much  as  possible.  The  result  was  the  passage  in  close  suc 
cession  of  two  acts  of  wide-reaching  importance. 

The  first  of  these  is  known  as  "The  First  Reconstruction 
Act."  Its  real  purpose  was  to  disregard  all  that  the  Presi 
dent  had  done  toward  reconstructing  the  States  and  start 
the  process  de  novo.  It  provided  for  grouping  the  States  of 
the  Confederacy  except  Tennessee,  which  was  now  a  State 
of  the  Union,  into  five  military  districts,  each  under  the 
command  of  an  officer  of  the  army,  not  below  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  appointed  by  the  President.  These  mili 
tary  governors,  with  the  aid  of  United  States  troops  detailed 
for  the  purpose,  were  to  control  and  direct  the  process  of 
reconstruction.  They  were  to  protect  all  persons  in  their 
rights  and  attend  to  the  punishment  of  all  disturbers  of  the 
peace,  and  were  given  power  to  organize  military  tribunals 
for  trying  offenders,  should  they  at  any  time  deem  this  ex 
pedient;  but  sentences  of  death  were  reserved  for  the  final 
decision  of  the  President. 

It  also  declared  State  authority  entirely  subject  to  the 
authority  of  these  military  commanders,  that  is,  it  set  up 
a  military  government  in  time  of  peace,  which,  like  many 
other  features  of  the  Act,  was  clearly  unconstitutional,  but 
the  Fifth  Section  shows  the  way  of  escape  from  this  undemo 
cratic  form  of  government. 

The  people  of  any  one  of  the  said  rebel  States  must 
first  call  a  convention  elected  "by  the  male  citizens  .  .  . 

*  Johnson  had  (on  Jan.  5,  1867)  vetoed  a  bill  extending  the  suffrage 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  to  negroes,  and  the  rage  of  the  extremists 
at  this  new  act  of  defiance  was  expressed  not  only  by  promptly  passing 
the  bill  over  his  veto,  but  by  actually  appointing  a  Committee  of  the 
House  to  search  for  grounds  upon  which  to  base  an  impeachment.  They 
failed,  however,  to  discover  adequate  grounds,  and  for  the  moment  the 
question  of  impeachment  had  been  dropped. 


22  THE   UNITED  STATES 

twenty-one  years  old  and  upward,  of  whatever  race,  color, 
or  previous  condition,  who  have  been  resident  in  said  State 
for  one  year  previous  to  the  day  of  such  election.1  This 
convention  must  form  a  State  Constitution  in  conformity 
with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  all  respects 
and  giving  the  elective  franchise  to  all  having  the  qualifi 
cations  just  stated  as  necessary  for  electors  of  delegates. 
This  Constitution,  after  having  been  ratified  by  a  majority 
of  qualified  voters  casting  votes  on  the  question,  shall  be 
submitted  to  Congress  for  its  approval  or  rejection.  When 
Congress  shall  accept  the  Constitution,  a  legislature  shall  be 
chosen  under  its  provisions.  This  legislature  shall  then  adopt 
the  proposed  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  prepared  by  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress. 
Then,  when  this  Fourteenth  Amendment  "shall  have  be 
come  a  part  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,"2  the 
said  State  shall  be  declared  entitled  to  send  Representatives 
and  Senators  to  Congress,  who  shall  be  admitted  upon  "tak 
ing  the  oath  prescribed  by  law.77  These  various  processes 
being  completed,  the  State,  thus  reconstructed,  was  to  be 
set  free  from  the  rule  of  the  military  commander  of  the 
district  and  become  once  more  its  own  master  in  affairs  purely 
local. 

Then,  as  if  qualifications  sufficient  had  not  already  been 
imposed,  there  is  added  the  additional  proviso : 

"That  no  person  excluded  from  the  privilege  of  holding 
office"  by  the  proposed  Fourteenth  Amendment  "shall  be 
eligible  to  election  as  a  member  of  the  convention  to  frame 
a  Constitution  .  .  .  nor  shall  any  such  person  vote  for  mem 
bers  of  such  convention.7 ' 

A  second  act  went  hand  in  hand  with  this.  It  was  aimed 
at  the  President  whose  intemperate  language  concerning 

1  Except  those  who  may  be  disfranchised  for  having  taken    part  in  the 
Rebellion  or  for  felony  at  common  law. 

2  The  mere  adoption  of  that  amendment  by  the  States  seeking  represen 
tation  was  not  enough.     It  must  first  be  ratified  by  three-fourths  of  all  the 
States. 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  23 

Congress  had  served  greatly  to  aggravate  the  feelings  of  the 
majority  against  him.  It  was  called  "an  act  regulating  the 
tenure  of  certain  civil  offices,"  and  was  designed  to  limit 
the  traditional  if  not  the  constitutional  power  of  the  Presi 
dent  over  civil  officials. 

Up  to  this  time  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  nation 
had  been  that,  although  the  Constitution  gave  the  power  to 
the  President  to  make  civil  appointments  "by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,"  he  had  an  absolute  power 
of  removal  as  the  Constitution  assigns  no  share  in  this  matter 
to  the  Senate. 

The  Republican  majority,  however,  began  to  fear  that 
President  Johnson  would  make  use  of  this  power  of  re 
moval  to  remodel  the  administrative  department  in  such  a 
way  as  to  obstruct  the  Reconstruction  plans  of  Congress  and 
force  his  own  views.  There  was  really  very  little  danger  of 
any  extreme  action  in  that  direction,  for  Mr.  Seward,  whose 
conservative  disposition  was  really  the  guiding  force  in  John 
son's  department,  was  not  the  man  to  countenance  any  rashly 
partisan  methods. 

The  Thirty-ninth  Congress,  however,  was  too  hostile  and 
suspicious  toward  Johnson  to  leave  any  measure  unenacted 
which  might  serve  to  protect  them  from  such  a  possible 
course. 

These  are  the  circumstances  which  induced  Congress  to 
pass  this  Tenure  of  Office  Act  which  made  the  removal  of 
all  officers  (except  the  Cabinet  officers  concerning  whom 
special  provisions  were  made)  subject  to  the  consent  of  the 
Senate,  given  either  in  specific  terms  or  by  the  confirmation 
of  a  new  man  to  succeed  to  the  official  removed. 

The  act  allowed  the  President  the  safer  power  of  sus 
pending  his  subordinates  for  certain  offences,  during  a  recess 
of  the  Senate.  He  could  also  appoint  another  to  discharge 
temporarily  the  duties  of  the  suspended  officer,  but  was  re 
quired  in  such  cases  to  submit,  within  the  first  twenty  days 
of  the  next  session  of  the  Senate,  his  reasons  for  such  ac 
tion.  If  the  Senate  accepted  his  reasons  the  suspension 


24  THE  UNITED  STATES 

then  became  a  removal  from  office,  but  if  the  reasons  did 
not  satisfy  the  Senate  the  suspended  official  must  be  rein 
stated. 

Then,  as  if  this  were  not  a  sufficient  encroachment  upon 
the  time-honored  powers  of  the  Chief  Executive,  the  bill 
further  provided  that  the  heads  of  Executive  Departments 
"shall  hold  their  offices  respectively  for  and  during  the 
term  of  the  President  by  whom  they  may  have  been  ap 
pointed  and  for  one  month  thereafter,  subject  to  removal 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate." 

This  meant  that  a  member  of  the  President's  Cabinet 
might  hold  his  position  even  against  the  will  of  the  Presi 
dent  who  had  appointed  him  during  the  entire  term  of  the 
Administration  and  for  one  month  of  the  term  of  his  suc 
cessor,  unless  the  Senate  happened  to  agree  with  the  Presi 
dent's  desire  to  remove  him.  It  really,  in  effect,  gave  a 
Cabinet  officer  a  fixed  term  of  four  years,  provided  he  re 
mained  in  sympathy  with  the  majority  of  the  Senate. 

It  was,  to  say  the  least,  a  drastic  measure,  and  the  penal 
ties  for  violation  of  its  provisions  were  correspondingly  se 
vere.  Heavy  iine  or  long  imprisonment  or  both  were  pre 
scribed  for  those  who  should  violate  this  law  or  be  found 
accessory  to  its  violation. 

When  these  two  remarkable  bills  were  presented  to  the 
President  (February  10,  1867)  he  felt  that  Congress  was 
making  a  more  definite  attempt  than  they  had  yet  made  to 
offer  him  a  personal  insult;  but,  steadied  in  this  trying  mo 
ment  by  his  able  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  and  prob 
ably  materially  aided  by  him,  he  prepared  and  sent  to  Con 
gress  (March  1,  1867)  his  vetoes  of  these  two  bills,  "inaster- 
pieces  of  political  logic,  constitutional  interpretation,  and  offi 
cial  style, ••  as  Mr.  Burgess  characterizes  them.  With  ref 
erence  to  the  Reconstruction  Act  he  argued,  from  constitu 
tional  provisions,  contemporary  opinions,  statutes  of  Con 
gress,  judicial  decisions,  and  the  well-established  practice 
of  the  Government,  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  set  up 
martial  law  except  where  war  or  armed  rebellion  existed, 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  25 

a  condition  which  did  not  then  exist  in  any  part  of  the  na 
tional  domain. 

With  reference  to  the  Tenure  of  Oniee  Act  he  argued 
with  equal  truth  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  compel  a 
President  to  keep  subordinates  in  ouice  contrary  to  his  own 
desires  and  bis  own  judgment. 

His  contention  in  both  cases  was  perfectly  sound  and  has 
generally  been  declared  so  by  leading  authorities  of  our  own 
day :  but  the  Republican  majority  was-  in  no  humor  to  be 
moved  by  logical  and  clean-cut  argument.  They  at  once, 
on  the  same  day  (March  '2,  1S67).  passed  both  bills  over  his 
veto. 

These  two  primary  acts  being  now  secured.  Congress  pro 
ceeded  to  enact  supplementary  laws  for  putting  its  Recon 
struction  Act  into  operation.  They  prepared  an  elaborate 
act  providing  "that  before  the  first  day  of  September.  IS 6 7, 
the  commanding  general  in  each  district  .  .  .  shall  cause 
a  registration  to  be  made  of  the  male  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  upward,  resident  in 
each  county,  or  parish  in  the  State  or  States  included  in  his 
district."  This  registration  was  to  include  only  those  quali 
fied  to  vote  under  the  First  Reconstruction  Act,  and  who 
had  previously  taken  an  ironclad  oath  asserting  citizenship 
and  residence,  freedom  from  disfranchiseuient  on  account  of 
having  taken  part  in  rebellion  or  the  commission  of  felony 
and  from  the  guilt  of  having  taken  part  in  the  late  Rebellion, 
either  by  hostile  act  or  by  having  ''given  aid  or  comfort" 
thereto.  This  prescribed  oath  also  declared  "I  will  faith 
fully  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
obey  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of 
my  ability,  encourage  others  so  to  do." 

The  act  then  provided  that  after  the  completion  of  this 
registration  the  commanding  general  shall  give  notice,  at 
least  thirty  days  previously,  of  the  time  and  places  for  an 
election  to  choose  delegates  to  a  convention  for  forming  a 
State  Constitution.  The  number  of  delegates  to  be  chosen 
to  such  convention  was  fixed  as  the  same  number  belonging 
U.  S.  VOL.  S.— 2. 


26  THE  UNITED  STATES 

to  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature  of  that 
State  in  I860.1  It  directed  the  commanding  generals  to 
apportion  these  delegates  to  the  convention  among  the  dis 
tricts,  counties,  or  parishes  of  the  States  ain  the  ratio  of 
voters  registered"  under  the  provisions  above  cited. 

It  provided  that  at  the  elections  for  delegates,  the  voters 
should  vote  upon  the  definite  question  whether  a  Constitu 
tional  Convention  should  be  held.  In  case  a  majority  of  the 
registered  voters  cast  ballots  on  this  question,  and  in  case 
a  majority  of  the  votes  so  cast  favored  the  Convention,  it 
was  to  be  convened.  Otherwise  it  was  not  to  be  convened. 

In  case  of  an  affirmative  vote  the  commanding  general 
was  ordered  to  notify  the  delegates  elected  to  assemble  at  a 
given  place  at  some  fixed  date  within  the  next  sixty  days  after 
the  elections,  and  to  frame  Constitutions  according  to  the 
provisions  laid  down  in  the  Reconstruction  Act  of  March 
2,  1867. 

These  Constitutions  when  framed  were  to  be  submitted 
to  the  registered  voters  of  the  States.  This  submission  was 
to  be  made  "at  an  election  to  be  conducted  by  the  officers 
and  persons  appointed  or  to  be  appointed  by  the  commanding 
general  .  .  .  and  to  be  held  after  the  expiration  of  30  days 
from  the  date  of  notice  thereof,  to  be  given  by  the  said 
Convention." 

The  returns  were  to  be  made  to  the  commanding  general 
of  the  district,  and  in  case  one-half  of  the  registered  voters 
cast  votes  upon  the  question  of  approving  this  Constitution, 
and  a  majority  of  these  votes  were  in  favor  of  the  Consti 
tution,  the  President  of  the  Convention  should  send  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States  a  copy  of  the  Constitution, 
duly  certified.  This  the  President  should  transmit  to  Con 
gress. 

In  case  Congress  should  express  itself  as  satisfied  that  its 

1  Virginia  was  excepted  from  this  provision  on  account  of  the  sep 
aration  of  West  Virginia  from  the  old  commonwealth.  The  act  provided 
that  the  Virginia  Convention  should  contain  as  many  members  as  had 
belonged  to  her  Lower  House  in  1860,  representing  territory  not  in 
cluded  in  West  Virginia. 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  27 

provisions  for  reconstruction  had  been  fairly  and  properly 
carried  out  in  the  process  thus  completed,  and  should  ap 
prove  the  new  Constitution,  the  State  in  question  should 
"be  declared  entitled  to  representation  and  Senators  and  Rep 
resentatives  .  .  .  admitted  therefrom.  .  .  ." 

Finally  this  act  provided  that  the  commanding  generals 
were  to  have  control  of  the  machinery  of  the  elections,  which 
were  however  required  to  be  by  ballot. 

Here  then  we  have  the  Congressional  plan  of  Reconstruc 
tion.  Military  rule  in  the  States  awaiting  readmission,  mili 
tary  control  of  the  ironclad  system  to  which  each  State  must 
conform  in  order  to  win  reconciliation  with  the  Federal 
Government. 

In  vain  President  Johnson,  in  presenting  his  veto  (March 
23,  1867),  denounced  this  act  as  a  most  terrible  means  of 
oppression  in  the  hands  of  the  military  officers  and  their  ap 
pointed  agents.  In  vain  he  pointed  out  the  wickedness  of 
disfranchising  the  great  body  of  honest  and  respectable  peo 
ple  of  the  unreconstructed  States  and  placing  the  authority 
in  the  hands  of  the  ignorant  and  degraded  freedmen.  All 
pretence  of  sympathy  between  the  Executive  and  the  ma 
jority  of  Congress  had  long  since  disappeared,  and  within 
a  few  hours  after  the  veto  message  was  received,  the  Second 
Reconstruction  Act  became  a  law,  the  opinions  of  the  Presi 
dent  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  cumulative  effects  of  these  Congressional  measures 
were  deep  and  far-reaching,  realizing  even  the  extreme  results 
which  President  Johnson  anticipated  from  them.  They  gave 
a  unique  opening  for  the  operations  of  conscienceless  adven 
turers  and  such  were  of  course  not  slow  in  taking  advantage 
of  their  opportunities.  The  South  was  soon  invaded  by 
Northerners  who  had  failed  in  their  own  sections  or  who 
saw  in  these  regulations  a  chance  to  gain  fortune  and  posi 
tion  simply  by  migrating  into  the  Southern  States  and  gain 
ing  influence  over  the  ignorant  and  superstitious  negroes 
in  whose  hands  Congress  had  so  rashly  placed  the  balance  of 
power.  Many  of  these  men  brought  no  baggage  beyond  the 


28  THE  UNITED  STATES 

"carpet  bags"  which  contained  the  raiment  needful  for  their 
purpose.  It  was  quite  evident  to  them  that  if  their  plan  suc 
ceeded  they 'would  soon  be  masters  of  what  had  once  been 
the  richest  portions  of  the  American  continent. 

Of  course  there  were  a  few  exceptions,  men  who  came 
filled  with  the  high  ideal  of  training  the  freedmen  in  Amer 
ican  political  ideals  and  giving  them  the  direction  and  leader- 
ship  necessary  for  securing  the  beneficent  results  which  they 
fondly  hoped  and  believed  would  come  eventually  from  this 
new  step  toward  the  true  Republican  doctrine  of  universal 
equality.1 

Such  men,  however,  as  a  rule,  returned  shortly  to  their 
own  section,  bearing  the  fragments  of  their  rudely  shat 
tered  idol.  It  did  not  take  long  to  convince  honest  men  in 
actual  possession  of  the  facts,  that  a  race  of  bondmen  can 
not  be  suddenly  transformed  into  a  community  of  reasonable 
and  responsible  citizens  by  the  easy  method  of  legislative 
enactments.  But  the  edict  which  had  gone  out  from  Con 
gress  under  circumstances  of  so  much  bitter  party  and  per 
sonal  feeling  was  not  to  be  recalled  until  the  last  of  the 
seceding  States  had  passed  through  the  slough  of  political 
iniquity  which  had  been  laid  for  it,  and  had  received  pardon 
from  the  nation  which  it  had  offended. 

So  much  in  brief  for  the  results  of  the  Reconstruction 
policy  of  Congress. 

There  was,  however,  still  the  question  of  the  quarrel 
with  the  President,  which  had  taken  on  much  the  character 
of  a  personal  feud.  The  Tenure  of  Office  Act  had  placed 
President  Johnson  in  an  extremely  embarrassing  and  difficult 
position,  as  it  doubtless  was  designed  to  do.  Johnson  had 
retained  Lincoln's  Cabinet  in  office,  but,  as  affairs  had  grown 
more  and  more  annoying,  he  had  begun  to  feel  that  certain 
among  them,  notably  Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War,  were 
conspiring  against  him  and  taking  sides  with  the  hostile 
majority  of  Congress.  Stanton  especially  had  become  un- 

1  The  era  of  negro  domination  and  "carpet-bag"  rule  in  the  South 
covers  the  years  1868-76. 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION. 

bearable.  He  was  arrogant,  disrespectful,  and  finally  openly 
hostile,  exerting  his  utmost  effort  to  deprive  the  President 
of  the  leadership  even  of  his  own  Cabinet. 

By  the  time  that  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act  came  into 
force  Johnson  had  determined  to  remove  Stanton.  lie  there 
fore  found  himself  confronted  with  the  necessity  either  of 
violating  the  statute,  which  he  deemed  unconstitutional,  or 
retaining  Stanton  in  office.  His  courage  was  equal  to  the 
needs  of  the  occasion.  During  the  summer  recess  (August, 
1867)  he  demanded  the  resignation  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 
Stanton  promptly  declined  to  comply,  and  the  President, 
acting  under  the  power  given  in  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act, 
suspended  him  from  office  and  appointed  General  Grant  to 
perform  its  duties  during  the  suspension. 

When  Congress  reconvened  in  December,  1867,  they 
considered  the  case  and  decided  that  the  grounds  were  not 
sufficient  for  the  removal  of  Stanton.  Upon  hearing  of  this 
vote,  Grant  at  once  surrendered  the  office  and  Stanton  again 
took  possession. 

This  affair  caused  sharp  words  to  pass  between  Grant  and 
Johnson  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  Grant  was  disposed 
to  side  with  Stanton.  Hitherto  his  political  affiliations  had 
not  been  known,  but  this  quarrel  with  Johnson  was  taken  to 
mean  that  he  was  disposed  to  side  with  the  Republican  ma 
jority  of  Congress,  and  he  thus  came  to  be  considered  as  an 
available  candidate  for  the  Republicans. 

Johnson  now  decided  to  try  the  utmost  strength  of  the 
Tenure  of  Office  Act.  He  issued  an  order  for  Stanton's  re 
moval,  and  ordered  his  successor,  Lorenzo  Thomas,  to  take 
possession  of  the  office.  The  Secretary  appealed  to  the 
friendly  majority  in  the  House  for  protection  in  the  right 
of  retaining  his  office.  The  friends  of  the  Secretary  accused 
the  President  of  having  disobeyed  the  laws  and  of  being  un 
fit  further  to  exercise  the  office  of  Chief  Executive.  They 
had  recourse  to  Impeachment.  On  February  24,  1868,  the 
House  voted  to  impeach  the  President  for  "high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors."  It  was  obviously  a  political  proceeding 


30  THE  UNITED  STATES 

brought  on  by  the  long  friction  between  the  President  and 
Congress,  for  after  all  the  rash  speeches  of  the  President 
and  the  vetoes  which  he  had  so  freely  made  use  of  were  not 
offences  eligible  for  impeachment.  His  only  really  serious 
offence  was  his  disregard  of  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act  in  the 
matter  of  the  removal  of  Stanton,  and  under  normal  condi 
tions  none  would  have  dreamed  of  basing  an  impeachment 
upon  such  a  cause  as  that. 

The  trial  began  on  March  5,  1868,  and  dragged  on  wearily 
for  over  two  month  s^  while  Johnson  busied  himself  with 
making  public  addresses  more  fiercely  denunciatory  than 
ever  against  the  majority  of  Congress.  The  prosecutors,  in 
lack  of  any  sound  basis  of  argument,  devoted  their  talents 
to  silly  and  intemperate  speeches,  and  were  met  by  the  pow 
erful  arguments  of  the  President's  counsel,,  Benjamin  Bob 
bins  Curtis.  Gradually  as  the  trial  continued,  the  conviction 
began  growing  that  the  prosecution  was  vindictive  and  un 
justifiable,  and  that  to  remove  a  President  upon  such  grounds 
as  the  prosecutors  presented  would  be  a  lasting  disgrace  to 
the  nation.  The  relief  of  the  sober  and  serious  part  of  the 
country  was,  therefore,  considerable  when,  on  May  16,  the 
impeachment  broke  down.  A  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Senate 
was  necessary  for  conviction  and  the  prosecutors  came  dan 
gerously  near  securing  it.  All  the  Democrats  and  seven  of 
the  Eepublicans  voted  for  acquittal  and  the  impeachment 
failed  by  only  a  single  vote.  The  seven  Republicans  who 
had  deserted  their  leaders  at  the  critical  moment  were 
roundly  abused  for  weeks  following  the  acquittal,  but  the 
cause  of  justice  had  been  sustained  and  Stanton  prudently 
accepted  the  verdict  and  resigned  his  office  without  further 
resistance. 

This  not  very  flattering  acquittal  proved  to  be  the  final 
exit  of  President  Johnson  from  positions  of  public  trust. 
Only  four  days  later  the  Republican  Convention  met  at  Chi 
cago  and,  with  an  enthusiasm  based  upon  the  recollection 
of  his  great  military  career,  unanimously  declared  General 
Grant  as  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  Shortly  after- 


IN  PROCESS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  31 

ward  the  Democrats  put  forth  as  their  candidate  Horatio 
Seymour,  of  New  York. 

Grant's  qualifications  as  a  candidate  were  of  the  most 
reassuring  kind,  as  a  military  hero  is  always  a  good  rallying 
point  for  a  political  campaign.  His  qualifications  for  actu 
ally  holding  executive  office  were  as  yet  purely  speculative, 
but  few  doubted  from  the  first  what  the  outcome  of  the  cam 
paign  would  be.  The  real  evils  of  the  Republican  party's 
Southern  policy  were  as  yet  not  apparent  in  the  North,  and 
the  Southern  vote  was  pretty  secure  under  the  operation  of 
a  policy  which  had  disfranchised  practically  the  whole  Demo 
cratic  element. 

General  Grant  received,  in  the  November  elections  (1868), 
214  electoral  votes,  while  only  80  were  cast  for  Mr.  Seymour. 
The  verdict  was  an  enthusiastic  support,  however  blindly  con 
ceived,  of  the  policy  of  Congress,  and  without  waiting  for 
the  inauguration  of  General  Grant  they  proceeded  to  present 
their  final  demand  to  the  Southern  States  still  outside  the 
Union. 

On  February  25,  1869,  they  laid  before  the  States  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment,  designed  to  incorporate  the  principle 
of  negro  suffrage  in  the  Constitution  itself. 

"The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall 
not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any 
State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  ser 
vitude." 

The  resentment  of  the  Southern  States,  reconstructed  and 
unreconstructed  alike,  to  this  amendment  was  most  bitter. 
Several  of  them  promptly  rejected  it,  but  as  thirty  States 
expressed  themselves  willing  to  approve  it,  the  consent  of  the 
others  was  unnecessary.  The  Southern  States,  Virginia, 
Georgia,  Mississippi,  and  Texas,  however,  were  still  at  the 
mercy  of  Congress,  and  their  ultimate  consent  to  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment  was  ensured  by  a  Congressional  enactment  adding 
this  to  the  already  enormous  body  of  conditions  precedent 
to  readmission  into  the  Union. 

EGBERT     McNUTT     McELROY,     PlI.D. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RECONSTRUCTION. 

Land  and  People  in  1870 — Territories — Railroads  in  the  West — 
Fenian  Movements — Boston's  Peace  Jubilees — The  Great  Cities 
—The  Chicago  Fire  —  The  Boston  Fire  —  The  Tweed  Ring — 
Tweed's  Escape  and  Capture — Financial  Condition  of  the  Na 
tion — Ships — Army  and  Navy — Reconstruction,  the  Problem — 
The  Presidential  and  the  Congressional  Plan  —  Iron  Law  of 
March  2,  1867 — The  Process  of  Reconstruction— Situation  in 
IgjO — Debate  on  the  Coercion  of  States — Outcome — The  Test 
Oath — All  States  at  Last  again  Represented  in  Both  Houses  of 
Congress. 

IN"  1870  the  United  States  covered  the  same  tract  of  the 
globe's  surface  as  till  the  Spanish  War,  four  million  square 
miies.  Hardly  more  than  a  fifth  of  this  represented  the  United 
States  of  1789.  About  a  third  of  the  vast  domain  was  set 
tled,  the  Western  frontier  running  irregularly  parallel  with 
the  Mississippi,  but  nearer  to  that  stream  than  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  centre  of  population  was  forty-eight  miles 
east  by  north  of  Cincinnati,  having  moved  westward  forty- 
two  miles  since  1860.  Except  certain  well-peopled  sections 
on  the  Pacific  Slope,  and  small  civilized  strips  in  Utah,  Colo 
rado,  and  New  Mexico,  the  Great  West  had  but  a  tenuous 
white  population.  Over  immense  regions  it  was  still  an  In 
dian  fastness,  rejoicing  in  a  reputation,  which  few  could 
verify,  for  rare  scenery,  fertile  valleys,  rich  mines,  and  a 
delightful  climate. 

The  American  people  numbered  38,558,371  souls.  Not 
quite  one  in  seven  had  colored  blood,  while  a  little  more  than 
that  proportion  were  of  foreign  birth,  most  of  these  Irish 
and  German.  In  the  settled  parts  of  our  country  the  popu 
lation  had  a  density  of  30.3  persons  to  the  square  mile,  south- 

(35) 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ern  New  England  being  the  most  closely  peopled.  Much  of 
western  Pennsylvania  was  in  the  condition  of  the  newest 
States,  railroads  building  as  never  before,  population  increas 
ing  at  a  remarkable  rate,  and  industries  developing  on  every 
hand.  Petroleum,  which  before  the  Civil  War  had  been 
skimmed  off  the  streams  of  the  oil  region  and  sold  for  medi 
cine,  in  1870  developed  a  yield  of  over  five  and  a  half  million 
gallons  in  Pennsylvania  alone,  more  than  eleven  times  as 
much  as  a  decade  previous.  The  West  was  rapidly  recruiting 
itself  from  the  East,  the  city  from  the  country.  Between  1790 
and  1860  our  urban  population  had  increased  from  one  in 
thirty  to  one  in  six;  in  1870  more  than  one  in  five  dwelt  in 
cities. 

There  were  now  thirty-seven  States,  nine  organized  Ter 
ritories,  and  two  unorganized  ones,  these  being  Alaska  and 
the  Indian  Territory.  Noteworthy  among  the  Territories 
was  Washington,  whose  population  had  doubled  in  the  pre 
ceding  decade  and  was  now  24,000.  Colorado  had  about  40,- 
000.  Utah  boasted  86,000,  one- third  of  whom  were  for 
eigners.  New  Mexico  numbered  in  1870,  91,874,  in  1871, 
114,000,  less  than  one  to  each  square  mile.  Arizona  was  still 
much  harried  by  Indians,  and  contained  hardly  10,000  civil 
ized  men.  This  year  female  suffrage,  hitherto  unknown  in 
America,  if  not  in  the  world,  gained  a  foothold  in  Wyoming 
and  in  Utah. 

During  the  ten  years  preceding  1870  the  railroad  mileage 
of  the  country  nearly  doubled.  The  Union  and  Central  Pa 
cific  Roads,  forming  the  only  transcontinental  line  then  in 
existence,  had  been  completed  on  May  10,  1869.  Into  Denver 
already  came,  besides  the  Union  Pacific,  three  other  railroads, 
all  short,  while  Washington  Territory  contained  the  germ  of 
the  Northern  Pacific,  whose  eastern  extremity  had  just  been 
begun  at  Duluth.  Dakota  had  sixty-five  miles  of  railway, 
Wyoming  four  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  With  the  above  ex 
ceptions  the  Territories  were  wholly  without  railroads. 

The  close  of  the  long  Civil  War  had  gladdened  all  true 
American  hearts.  Only  the  Fenians  sought  further  bloodshed, 


AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  37 

and  even  they  pursued  their  aim  rather  feebly.  Their  at 
tempt,  in  April,  1866,  to  capture  the  British  island  of  Cam- 
pobello,  near  Eastport,  Me.,  collapsed  on  the  approach  of  Gen 
eral  Meade  with  United  States  troops.  On  June  1  a  detach 
ment  of  Fenians  succeeded  in  capturing  Fort  Erie,  across 
from  Buffalo,  and  on  the  7th  another  company  occupied  St. 
Armand,  just  over  the  Vermont  border ;  but  both  parties  were 
speedily  dislodged  and  routed.  The  heart  of  the  nation  de 
lighted  in  peace.  In  1869,  carrying  out  a  conception  of  Mr. 
P.  S.  Gilmore,  Boston  held  a  great  Peace  Jubilee  to  celebrate 
the  end  of  the  late  fraternal  strife.  An  immense  coliseum  was 
erected  for  the  performances,  which  began  on  June  15  and 
lasted  till  June  20.  A  choir  of  10,000  singers,  an  orchestra 
of  over  1,000  pieces,  a  battery  of  artillery,  and  an  anvil  chorus 
of  100  men  beating  anvils  made  up  the  unique  musical  en 
semble.  So  great  was  the  success,  financially  and  otherwise, 
of  this  scheme,  that  in  1872  Mr.  Gilmore  undertook  an  inter 
national  Peace  Jubilee.  This,  too,  was  held  in  Boston,  open 
ing  June  17  and  lasting  till  July  4.  Twenty  thousand  voices 
and  an  orchestra  2,000  strong  joined  in  it,  parts  being  taken 
also  by  choice  military  bands  from  France,  Germany,  and 
England,  and  from  the  United  States  Marine  Corps.  Vast 
crowds  were  attracted,  but  the  receipts  this  time  fell  far  short 
of  the  expenditures. 

In  1870,  New  York,  with  942,292  inhabitants,  Phila 
delphia,  with  674,022,  Brooklyn,  with  396,099,  St.  Louis, 
with  310,864,  and  Chicago,  with  298,977,  were,  as  in  1890, 
our  five  largest  cities,  and  they  had  the  same  relative  size  as  in 
1890,  save  that  Chicago  meantime  passed  from  the  fifth  to 
the  second  place.  This  in  the  face  of  adversity.  In  October, 
1871,  the  city  was  devastated  by  one  of  the  most  terrible 
conflagrations  of  modern  times.  It  began  on  Sunday  evening, 
the  8th,  in  a  wooden  barn  on  DeKoven  Street,  in  the  West 
Division.  Lumber  yards  were  numerous  there,  and  through 
these  the  flames  raged,  leaping  across  the  stream  before  a 
strong  westerly  wind  into  the  Southern  Division,  which  was 
closely  built  up  with  stores  and  warehouses.  The  fire  con- 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tinned  all  Monday.  It  crossed  the  main  channel  of  the  Chi 
cago  Kiver  into  the  Northern  Division,  sweeping  all  before  it. 

"Niagara  sank  into  insignificance  compared  with  that  tow 
ering  wall  of  whirling,  seething,  roaring  flame.  It  swept  on 
and  on,  devouring  the  massive  stone  blocks  as  though  they  had 
been  the  cardboard  playthings  of  a  child.  Looking  under  the 
flame  one  could  see,  in  the  very  centre  of  the  furnace,  stately 
buildings  on  either  side  of  Randolph  Street  whose  beauty  and 
magnificence  and  whose  wealth  of  contents  were  admired  by 
thousands  the  day  before.  A  moment  and  the  flickering  flame 
crept  out  of  a  window;  another  and  another  hissing  tongue 
followed ;  a  sheet  of  fire  joined  the  whirling  mass  above,  and 
the  giant  structure  was  gone.  One  pile  after  another  thus  dis 
solved  like  snow  on  the  mountain.  Loud  detonations  to  the 
right  and  left,  where  buildings  were  being  blown  up,  the  fall 
ing  of  walls  and  the  roaring  of  flames,  the  moaning  of  the 
wind  and  of  the  crowd,  and  the  shrill  whistling  of  tugs  en 
deavoring  to  remove  the  shipping  out  of  the  reach  of  danger, 
made  up  a  frightful  discord  of  sounds  that  will  live  in  every 
hearer's  memory  while  his  life  shall  last." 

The  glare  could  be  seen  for  hundreds  of  miles  over  the 
prairie  and  the  lake.  The  river  seemed  to  boil  and  mingle  its 
steam  with  the  smoke.  Early  Monday  morning  the  "Tribune" 
building,  the  only  structure  left  in  the  business  quarter,  re 
mained  intact.  Two  patrols  were  constantly  at  work;  one 
sweeping  away  live  coals  and  brands,  the  other  watching  the 
roofs.  Till  four  o'clock  the  reporters  passed  in  regular  re 
ports  of  the  fire.  At  five  the  forms  were  sent  down.  In  ten 
minutes  the  cylinder  presses  would  have  been  at  work.  At 
that  moment  the  front  basement  is  discovered  on  fire.  The 
water-plug  at  the  corner  is  opened,  but  the  water-works  have 
been  destroyed.  The  pressmen  have  to  fly  for  their  lives. 
By  ten  o'clock  the  block  is  in  ashes. 

Streets,  bridges,  parks  are  gorged  with  panic-stricken 
throngs.  Not  a  few  are  crazed  by  terror.  One  old  woman 
stumbles  along  under  a  great  bundle,  crooning  Mother  Goose 
melodies.  Anarchy  reigns.  The  horrors  of  the  night  are 


AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  39 

multiplied  by  drunkenness,  arson,  burglary,  murder,  rape. 
Vigilance  committees  are  formed.  It  was  estimated  that  fifty 
ruffians  first  and  last  were  shot  in  their  tracks,  among  them 
five  notorious  criminals.  Convicts  locked  in  the  court-house 
basement  would  have  been  burnt  alive  but  for  the  Mayor's 
timely  order,  which  his  son,  with  the  utmost  difficulty  and 
danger,  delivered  after  the  building  had  begun  to  burn. 

The  morning  after  the  fire  the  indomitable  Chicago  pluck 
began  to  show  itself.  William  D.  Kerfoot  knocked  together 
a  shanty,  facetiously  called  "Kerfoot's  block,"  an  unrivaled 
structure,  for  it  was  the  only  one  in  the  neighborhood.  To  it 
he  nailed  a  sign  which  well  typified  the  spirit  of  the  city. 
"Wm.  D.  Kerfoot,  all  gone  but  wife,  children,  and  ENERGY." 
The  next  Sunday  the  Rev.  Dr.  Collyer  preached  where  his 
church  had  formerly  stood,  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  yet  in 
the  heart  of  a  wilderness,  more  than  a  mile  from  human 
habitation. 

Not  till  Tuesday  morning  was  the  headway  of  the  fire 
checked,  and  parts  of  the  charred  debris  smouldered  on  for 
months.  Nearly  three  and  a  third  square  miles  were  burned 
over ;  17,450  buildings  were  destroyed ;  98,500  persons  ren 
dered  homeless ;  and  over  250  killed.  The  total  direct  loss 
of  property  amounted  to  $190,000,000,  which  indirect  losses, 
as  estimated,  swelled  to  $290,000,000.  Fifty-six  insurance 
companies  were  rendered  insolvent  by  the  fire.  A  Relief  and 
Aid  Society  was  at  once  formed,  which  within  a  month  had 
subscriptions  from  all  over  the  country  amounting  to  three 
and  a  half  million  dollars,  was  aiding  60,000  people,  and  had 
assisted  in  building  4,000  temporary  shelters.  Later  the  Illi 
nois  Legislature  voted  aid. 

Next  after  that  of  Chicago  the  most  destructive  conflagra 
tion  ever  known  in  the  United  States  visited  Boston  in  1872. 
It  originated  during  Saturday  evening,  November  9,  on  the 
corner  of  Kingston  and  Summer  Streets,  spread  with  terrible 
rapidity  east  and  north,  and  raged  with  little  abatement  till 
nearly  noon  next  day.  During  Sunday  afternoon  the  flames 
seemed  well  under  control,  but  an  explosion  of  gas  about  mid- 


40  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

night  set  them  raging  afresh,  and  much  of  Monday  had  passed 
before  they  were  subdued.  Ordinary  appliances  for  fighting 
fire  were  of  no  avail,  the  demon  being  at  many  points  brought 
to  bay  only  by  the  free  use  of  dynamite  to  blow  up  buildings 
in  his  path.  Sixty-five  acres  were  laid  waste.  Washington 
Street  from  Bedford  to  Milk  formed  the  western  limit  of  the 
tract,  which,  at  Milk,  receded  to  Devonshire,  lying  east  of  this 
from  Milk  to  State,  which  formed  its  northern  term.  Noth 
ing  but  the  waters  of  the  harbor  stayed  the  eastern  march  of 
the  fire.  The  district  burned  had  been  the  home  of  Boston's 
wholesale  trade,  containing  the  finest  business  blocks  which 
the  city  could  boast.  Fourteen  or  fifteen  lives  were  lost,  and 
not  far  from  eight  hundred  buildings  consumed.  The  prop 
erty  loss  was  placed  at  $80,000,000. 

Meantime  New  York  City  was  suffering  from  an  evil 
worse  than  fire,  the  frauds  of  the  "Tweed  King,"  notorious 
for  evermore.  In  the  summer  of  1870  proof  was  published  of 
vast  frauds  by  leading  city  officials,  prominent  among  them 
"Boss"  William  M.  Tweed,  who,  in  the  language  of  Judge 
Noah  Davis,  "saw  fit  to  pervert  the  powers  with  which  he  was 
clothed,  in  a  manner  more  infamous,  more  outrageous,  than 
any  instance  of  a  like  character  which  the  history  of  the 
civilized  world  afforded." 

William  Marcy  Tweed  was  born  in  1823,  at  24  Cherry 
Street,  New  York  City.  A  youth  devoted  to  business  made 
him  a  fair  penman  and  an  adept  reckoner,  but  not  a  business 
man.  He,  indeed,  once  attempted  business,  but,  as  he  gave 
his  chief  attention  to  speculation,  gambling,  and  ward  politics, 
completely  failed,  so  that  he  seems  forever  to  have  renounced 
legitimate  money-making.  As  a  volunteer  fireman,  known  as 
"Bix  Six,"  a  gross,  licentious  Falstaff  of  real  life,  albeit  loyal 
and  helpful  to  his  friends,  Tweed  led  the  "Koughs,"  being 
opposed  by  his  more  decent  fellows,  the  "Quills."  The  tide 
of  "respectability,"  receding  uptown,  left  Tweed's  ward  in 
the  hands  of  poor  immigrants  or  the  sons  of  such,  who  became 
partly  his  willing  accomplices,  partly  his  unwitting  tools,  in 
his  onslaughts  upon  taxpayers.  He  began  these  forays  at 


AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  41 

twenty-seven,  as  Alderman,  suspended  them  for  a  time  in  Con 
gress,  resumed  them  in  1857  as  Public  School  Commissioner, 
continued  and  enlarged  them  as  member  and  four  times  Presi 
dent  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  brought  them  to  a  cli 
max  as  a  functionary  of  the  Street  Department.  He  thus 
became,  in  time,  the  central  sun  in  the  system  of  brilliant 
luminaries  known  as  the  "Tweed  Ring." 

The  multitudinous  officials  of  the  city  were  the  Ring's 
slaves.  At  one  time  eight  hundred  policemen  stood  guard  to 
prevent  a  hostile  majority,  in  Tammany  Hall  itself,  from 
meeting.  The  thugs  of  the  city,  nicknamed  "Tweed's  lambs," 
rendered  invaluable  services  at  caucus  and  convention.  Two 
days  before  election  these  venal  cohorts  would  assemble  in  the 
340  election  districts,  each  man  of  them  being  listed  and  reg 
istered  under  several  assumed  names  and  addresses.  From 
Tweed's  house  in  1868  six  registered,  from  Justice  Shandley's 
nine,  from  the  Coroner's  thirteen.  A  State  Senator's  house 
was  put  down  as  the  home  of  thirty  voters.  One  Alderman's 
residence  nominally  housed  twenty,  another's  twenty-five,  an 
Assemblyman's  fifteen.  And  so  it  went.  Bales  of  fictitious 
naturalization  papers  were  secured.  One  year  105,000  blank 
applications  and  69,000  certificates  were  ordered  printed.  In 
one  case  thirteen  men,  in  another  fifteen,  were  naturalized  in 
five  minutes.  The  new  citizens  "put  in"  election  day  fol 
lowing  their  leaders  from  polling  place  to  polling  place  as 
needed. 

When  the  thieves  could  be  kept  in  power  by  such  means 
plunder  wras  easy  and  brazen.  Contractors  on  public  works 
were  systematically  forced  to  pay  handsome  bonuses  to  the 
Ring.  One  of  them  testified :  "When  I  commenced  building 
I  asked  Tweed  how  to  make  out  the  bills,  and  he  said,  'Have 
fifteen  per  cent  over.'  I  asked  what  that  was  for,  and  he 
said,  'Give  that  to  me  and  I  will  take  care  of  your  bills.'  I 
handed  him  the  percentage  after  that."  Innumerable  methods 
of  fraud  were  successfully  tried.  During  the  year  1863  the 
expenditures  of  the  Street  Department  were  $650,000.  With 
in  four  years  Tweed  quadrupled  them.  A  species  of  asphalt 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

paving,  dubbed  "Fisk's  poultice/'  so  bad  that  a  grand  jury 
actually  declared  it  a  public  nuisance,  was  laid  in  great  quan 
tities  at  vast  cost  to  the  city.  Official  advertising  was  doled 
to  twenty-six  daily  and  fifty-four  weekly  sheets,  of  which 
twenty-seven  vanished  on  its  withdrawal.  But  all  the  other 
robber  enterprises  v  paled  before  the  city  Court  House  job. 
This  structure,  commenced  in  1868,  under  stipulation  that 
it  should  not  cost  more  than  $250,000,  was  in  1871  still  un 
finished  after  an  outlay  of  $8,000,000,  four  times  as  much 
as  was  spent  on  Parliament  House  in  London.  Its  ostensible 
cost,  at  last,  was  not  less  than  $12,000,000.  As  by  witchcraft 
the  city's  debt  was  in  two  years  more  than  doubled.  The 
Ring's  operations  cheated  the  city's  taxpayers,  first  and  last, 
out  of  no  less  than  $160,000,000,  "or  four  times  the  fine  levied 
on  Paris  by  the  German  army."  Though  wallowing  in  lucre, 
and  prodigal  withal,  Tweed  was  yet  insatiably  greedy.  "His 
hands  were  everywhere,  and  everywhere  they  were  they  were 
feeling  for  money."  In  1871  he  boasted  of  being  worth  $20,- 
000,000,  and  vowed  soon  to  be  as  rich  as  Vanderbilt. 

With  his  coarse  nature  the  Boss  reveled  in  jibes  made  at 
the  expense  of  his  honor.  He  used  gleefully  to  show  his 
friends  the  safe  where  he  kept  money  for  bribing  legislators, 
finding  those  of  the  "Tammany  Republican"  stripe  easiest 
game.  Of  the  contractor  who  was  decorating  his  country 
place  at  Greenwich  he  inquired,  pointing  to  a  statue,  "Who 
the  hell  is  that  ?"  "That  is  Mercury,  the  god  of  merchants 
and  thieves,"  was  the  reply.  "That's  bully!"  said  Tweed. 
"Put  him  over  the  front  door."  His  donation  of  $100  for 
an  altar  cloth  in  the  Greenwich  Methodist  Church  the  trus 
tees  sent  back,  declaring  that  they  wanted  none  of  his  stolen 
money.  Other  charitable  gifts  of  his  were  better  received. 

The  city  papers,  even  those  least  corruptible,  were  for 
long  either  neutral  or  else  favorable  to  the  Ring,  but  its 
doings  were  by  no  means  unknown.  They  were  matters  of 
general  surmise  and  criticism,  criticism  that  seemed  hope 
less,  so  hard  was  it  to  obtain  exact  evidence. 

But  pride  goeth  before  a  fall.    Amid  its  greatest  triumph 


AT  THE  CLOSE   OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  43 

the  King  sowed  the  wind  whence  rose  the  whirlwind  which 
wrought  its  ruin.  At  a  secret  meeting  held  in  the  house  of 
John  Morrissey,  pugilist  member  of  Congress,  certain  of  the 
unsatisfied,  soon  known  as  the  "Young  Democracy,"  planned 
a  revolt.  Endeavoring  to  prevent  the  grant  by  the  ISTew 
York  Legislature  of  a  new  charter  which  the  Ring  sought, 
the  insurgents  met  apparent  defeat,  which,  however,  ul 
timately  proved  victory,  Tweed  building  for  himself  far 
worse  than  he  knew.  The  new  charter,  abstractedly  good, 
in  concentrating  power  concentrated  responsibility  also,  show 
ing  the  outraged  people,  when  awakened,  where  to  strike  for 
liberty.  In  spite  of  whitewashing  by  prominent  citizens,  of 
blandishments  and  bulldozing,  of  attempts  to  buy  the  stock 
of  the  "Times"  and  to  boycott  "Harper's  Weekly,"  where 
last's  cartoons — his  first  work  of  the  kind — gave  the  King 
international  notoriety,  the  reform  spirit  proved  irresistible. 
The  bar  had  been  servile  or  quiet,  but  the  New  York  Bar 
Association  was  now  formed,  which  at  once  became  what  it 
has  ever  since  been,  a  most  influential  censor  of  the  bench. 
The  Young  Democracy  grew  powerful.  Public-spirited  citi 
zens  organized  a  Council  of  Political  Keform. 

The  occasion  of  conclusive  exposure  was  trivial  enough. 
Sheriff  O'Brien  was  refused  part  of  what  he  thought  his 
share  of  the  sheriff  fees.  An  expert  accountant  in  the  Comp 
troller's  office  supplied  him  with  damning  evidence  against 
the  King.  On  July  18,  1871,  Mr.  O'Brien  walked  into  the 
"Times"  office  and,  handing  the  editor  a  bundle  of  docu 
ments,  said :  "There  are  all  the  figures :  you  can  do  with 
them  just  what  you  please."  The  figures  were  published 
on  the  20th  in  an  exhibit  printed  in  English  and  German, 
causing  excitement  compared  with  which  that  arising  from 
the  Orange  Kiot  of  July  12th  seemed  trifling.  The  sensa 
tion  did  not  end  with  talk.  On  September  4th  a  mass-meet 
ing  of  citizens  was  held  at  Cooper  Institute  and  a  committee 
of  seventy  prominent  men  chosen  to  probe  the  frauds  and 
to  punish  the  perpetrators.  For  the  work  of  prosecution  the 
Attorney-General  appointed  Charles  O'Conor,  who  asso- 


44  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ciated  with  himself  the  ablest  counsel.  Samuel  J.  Tilden  was 
conspicuously  active  in  the  prosecution,  thus  laying  the  foun 
dation  for  that  popularity  which  made  him  the  Governor  of 
New  York,  1875-77,  and  in  1876  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

On  October  28,  1871,  Tweed  was  arrested  and  gave  a 
million  dollars  bail.  In  November,  the  same  year,  he  was 
elected  to  the  State  Senate,  but  did  not  take  his  seat.  On 
December  16th  he  was  again  arrested,  and  released  on  $5,000 
bail.  The  jury  disagreed  on  the  first  suit,  but  on  the  second 
he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  $12,550  and 
to  suffer  twelve  years  imprisonment.  This  sentence  was  set 
aside  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  arid  Tweed's  discharge  or 
dered.  In  the  meantime  other  suits  had  been  brought,  among 
them  one  to  recover  $6,000,000.  Failing  to  find  bail  for 
$3,000,000,  he  was  sent  to  the  Ludlow  Street  Jail.  Being 
allowed  to  ride  in  the  Park  and  occasionally  to  visit  his  resi 
dence,  one  day  in  December  he  escaped  from  his  keepers. 
After  hiding  for  several  months  he  succeeded  in  reaching 
Cuba.  A  fisherman  found  him,  sunburnt  and  weary  but  not 
homesick,  and  led  him  to  Santiago.  Instead  of  taking  him 
to  a  hotel,  Tweed's  guide  handed  him  over  to  the  police  as 
probably  some  American  filibuster  come  to  free  Cuba.  The 
American  consul  procured  his  release  (his  passports  had  been 
given  him  under  an  assumed  name),  but  later  found  him 
out.  The  discovery  was  too  late,  for  he  had  again  escaped 
and  embarked  for  Spain,  thinking  there  to  be  at  rest,  as  we 
then  had  no  extradition  treaty  with  that  country.  Landing 
at  Vigo,  he  found  the  governor  of  the  place  with  police  wait 
ing  for  him,  and  was  soon  homeward  bound  on  an  American 
war-vessel.  Caleb  Gushing,  our  Minister  at  Madrid,  had 
learned  of  his  departure  for  that  realm,  and  had  put  the 
authorities  on  their  guard.  To  help  them  identify  their  man 
he  furnished  them  a  caricature  by  Nast,  representing  Tweed 
as  a  Tammany  policeman  gripping  two  boys  by  the  hair. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  "Twid  antelme"  was  apprehended 
by  our  peninsular  friends  as  a  cliild-stealer.  Though  every- 


AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  45 

thing  possible  was  done  to  render  him  comfortable  in  jail, 
Tweed  sighed  for  liberty.  He  promised,  if  released,  to  turn 
State's  evidence  and  to  give  up  all  his  property  and  effects. 
Some  papers  suggested  that  the  public  pitied  the  man  and 
would  be  glad  to  have  him  set  free.  ~No  compromise  with 
him  was  made,  however,  and  he  continued  in  jail  till  his 
death  in  1878. 

In  1870  the  national  debt  amounted  to  a  little  less  than 
$2,500,000,000,  nearly  three  times  the  sum  of  all  the  coun 
try's  State,  county,  and  municipal  indebtedness  combined. 
Yet  the  revenues  sufficed  to  meet  the  interest  and  gradually 
to  pay  off  the  principal.  Reduction  in  the  rate  of  taxation 
was  recommended  in  the  President's  Message,  as  also  a  re 
funding  of  the  debt,  but  this  latter  was  postponed  for  the 
time  by  the  outbreak  of  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  Our  im 
ports  for  the  year  ending  June,  1870,  were  worth  $462,377,- 
587,  which  exceeded  the  figure  for  any  previous  fiscal  year. 
The  duties  on  these  imports  footed  up  nearly  $195,000,000. 
The  imports  for  the  year  fell  short  of  the  exports  by  over 
$36,000,000. 

Painful  to  notice  was  the  small  proportion  of  our  com 
merce  which  was  carried  on  in  American  vessels.  Between 
1850  and  1855  we  had  outstripped  England  both  in  ship 
building  and  in  tonnage.  Seventy-five  per  cent  of  our  ocean 
traffic  was  then  borne  in  American  vessels;  in  1869  the  pro 
portion  had  fallen  to  thirty  per  cent.  The  decay  of  our 
merchant  marine  was  originally  due  to  the  fatal  enterprise 
of  Confederate  privateers  during  the  war,  and  to  the  change 
now  going  on  from  wood  to  iron  as  the  material  for  ships. 
This  transferred  to  British  builders  the  special  advantage 
which  Americans  had  so  long  as  wood  was  used.  Why  the 
advantage  continued  with  the  British  was  a  much-disputed 
question,  not  yet  separating  the  two  political  parties.  Pro 
tectionists  found  it  in  British  labor  and  British  subsidies  to 
steamship  lines,  and  wished  to  offset  it  by  bounties  and  by 
still  higher  subsidies  to  American  shipping  enterprise.  Anti- 
protectionists  traced  all  the  difficulty  to  protection,  particu- 


46  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

larly  denouncing  the  duties  on  materials  imported  for  ship 
building.  They  urged  free  United  States  registry  for  for 
eign-built  ships,  or  at  least  the  privilege  of  importing  free 
of  duty  all  stock  to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  ships. 

The  United  States  Navy  was  neglected  after  the  war  and 
soon  became  antiquated,  being  occupied  mainly  with  the  most 
peaceful  enterprises,  such  as  hydrographic  and  coast  surveys. 
Indeed,  it  was  fitted  only  for  such.  The  destruction  of  the 
pirate  Forward  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  and  the  bombard 
ment  of  certain  Corean  forts  were  its  only  warlike  deeds 
during  1870.  The  army,  this  year,  numbered  34,000  en 
listed  men,  soon  to  be  reduced  to  the  legal  number  of  30,000. 
It  was  busied  in  making  surveys,  in  protecting  settlers  against 
Indians,  and  one-sixth  of  it  in  assisting  Government  officials 
to  keep  order  in  the  South.  Some  of  the  army  officers  and 
men  were  also  busy  in  taking  and  publishing  over  the  coun 
try  scientific  observations  of  the  weather,  an  extremely  use 
ful  form  of  public  service  then  in  its  infancy.  The  United 
States  Weather  Bureau  dates  from  1870,  its  origin  and  or 
ganization  mainly  due  to  the  then  Chief  Signal  Officer  of 
the  Army,  General  Albert  J.  Myer. 

When  the  resuscitation  of  the  South  began,  it  raised  a 
most  interesting  constitutional  question,  viz.,  what  effect 
secession  had  upon  the  States  guilty  of  it;  whether  or  not 
it  was  an  act  of  State  suicide.  That  it  amounted  to  suicide, 
leaving,  of  the  State  that  was,  "nothing  but  men  and  dirt," 
was  held  by  many,  among  them  Sumner  and  Stevens.  Both 
these  men  conceived  the  problem  of  the  disordered  States 
as  that  of  an  out-and-out  "reconstruction" ;  and  they  ascribed 
to  Congress  the  right  to  work  its  will  in  the  conquered  re 
gion,  changing  old  State  lines  and  institutions  as  it  might 
please,  and  postponing  settlement  for  any  convenient  length 
of  time.  Against  this  theory  a  strong  party  maintained  that 
of  State  indestructibility,  asserting  the  total  nullity  of  seces 
sion  acts. 

The  universal  supposition  at  first  was  that  the  Southern 
States  needed  only  "restoration,"  to  be  conducted  by  the 


AT  THE   CLOSE   OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  47 

President.  "Restoration"  was  the  policy  of  Presidents  Lin 
coln  and  Johnson;  as  also  of  the  entire  Democracy.  Follow 
ing  the  idea  of  simple  restoration,  Lincoln  had  recognized 
loyal  State  governments  in  Virginia  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  and  in  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and  Tennessee  later.  Dur 
ing  1865  Johnson  did  the  same  in  all  the  other  States  lately 
in  secession. 

Strong  considerations  had  led  Congress,  at  this  point, 
to  assume  charge  of  the  restitution  of  the  States,  and,  brav 
ing  President  Johnson's  uttermost  opposition  and  spite,  to 
rip  up  the  entire  Presidential  work.  "The  same  authority 
which  recognized  the  existence  of  the  war"  seemed  "the 
only  authority  having  the  constitutional  right  to  determine 
when,  for  all  purposes,  the  war  had  ceased.  The  Act  of 
March  2,  1867,  was  a  legislative  declaration  that  the  war 
which  sprang  from  the  Rebellion  was  not,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  ended;  and  that  it  should  be  held  to  continue  until 
State  governments,  republican  in  form,  and  subordinate  to 
the  Constitution  and  laws,  should  be  established." 

On  March  2,  1866,  it  was  enacted  that  neither  House 
should  admit  a  member  from  any  seceder-State  till  a  Con 
gressional  vote  had  declared  the  State  entitled  to  representa 
tion.  The  ratification  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  mak 
ing  negroes  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  forbidding 
legislation  to  abridge  their  privileges,  was  made  prerequisite 
to  such  vote.  Tennessee  accepted  the  terms  in  July,  but, 
as  action  was  optional,  all  the  other  States  declined,  thus 
defeating  for  the  time  this  amendment.  Congress  now  de 
termined  not  to  wait  for  the  lagging  States,  but  to  enforce 
their  reconstruction.  The  iron  law  of  March  2,  1867,  re 
placed  "secessia"  under  military  rule,  permitted  the  loyal 
citizens  of  any  State,  blacks  included,  to  raise  a  convention 
and  frame  a  Constitution  enfranchising  negroes,  and  decreed 
that  when  such  Constitution  had  been  ratified  by  the  electors 
to  the  convention  and  approved  by  Congress,  and  when  the 

1  Opinion  of  Attorney-General  E.  R.  Hoar,  May  31,   1869. 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Legislature  under  it  had  ratified  the  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment  and  this  had  become  part  of  the  Constitution,  then  the 
State  might  be  represented  in  Congress.  The  supplementary 
law  of  March  19th  hastened  the  process  by  giving  district 
commanders  the  oversight  of  registration  and  the  initiative 
in  calling  conventions. 

After  this  the  work  went  rapidly  on.  Registration  boards 
were  appointed,  the  test-oath1  applied,  delegates  elected,  and 
Constitutions  framed  and  adopted.  These  instruments  in  all 
cases  abolished  slavery,  repudiated  the  Confederate  debt  and 
the  pretended  right  of  a  State  to  secede,  declared  the  seces 
sion  acts  of  1861  null  and  void,  ordained  manhood  suffrage, 
and  prohibited  the  passage  of  laws  to  abridge  this. 

Congress  then  acted.  Alabama,  Arkansas,  North  and 
South  Carolina,  Florida,  Georgia,  and  Louisiana  were  ad 
mitted  to  representation  in  June,  1868,  agreeing  never  to 
revoke  universal  suffrage.  As  Georgia  was  suspected  of  evad 
ing  some  of  the  requirements,  the  Senators  from  the  State 
were  refused  seats  at  Washington,  and  did  not  obtain  them 
till  the  last  of  January,  1871.  Georgia's  representatives 


OATH. — Act  of  July  2,  1862.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.  That  here 
after  every  person  elected  or  appointed  to  any  office  of  honor  or  profit 
under  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  either  in  the  civil,  mili 
tary,  or  naval  departments  of  the  public  service,  excepting  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  shall,  before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  such 
office,  and  before  being  entitled  to  any  of  the  salary,  or  other  emolu 
ments  thereof,  take  and  subscribe  the  following  oath  or  affirmation:  "I, 
A.  B.,  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  have  never  voluntarily 
borne  arms  against  the  United  States  since  I  have  been  a  citizen  there 
of;  that  I  have  voluntarily  given  no  aid,  countenance,  counsel,  or  en 
couragement  to  persons  engaged  in  armed  hostility  thereto;  that  I  have 
neither  sought  nor  accepted  nor  attempted  to  exercise  the  functions  of 
any  office  whatever,  under  any  authority  or  pretended  authority  in  hos 
tility  to  the  United  States,  that  I  have  not  yielded  a  voluntary  support 
to  any  pretended  government,  authority,  power,  or  constitution  within 
the  United  States  hostile  or  inimical  thereto.  And  I  do  further  swear 
(or  affirm)  that,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  ability,  I  will  support 
and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  against  all  enemies, 
foreign  and  domestic;  that  I  will  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to  the 
same;  that  I  take  this  obligation  freely,  without  any  mental  reserva 
tion,  or  purpose  of  evasion,  and  that  I  will  well  and  faithfully  discharge 
the  duties  of  the  office  on  which  I  am  about  to  enter,  so  help  me  God." 


AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RECONSTRUCTION.  49 

were  given  seats,  but  subsequently,  in  1869,  these  were  va 
cated,  and  they  remained  empty  till  1871.  To  regain  rep 
resentation  in  Congress  this  State,  too,  was  obliged  to  ratify 
the  Fifteenth  Amendment. 

Thus  stood  matters  in  1870 :  all  but  four  of  the  late  Con 
federate  States  nominally  back  in  the  Union,  these  still  con 
tumacious,  but  confronted  by  an  inflexible  Congress,  which 
barred  them  from  every  national  function  of  Statehood  till 
they  had  conformed  to  all  the  conditions  above  described. 

Virginia,  Mississippi,  and  Texas  held  out  the  longest.  The 
Act  of  April  10,  1869,  was  passed  to  hasten  their  action, 
authorizing  the  President  to  call  elections  for  ratifying  or 
rejecting  the  new  Constitutions  in  those  States.  To  punish 
the  States'  delay,  their  new  Legislatures  were  required  to 
ratify  the  proposed  Fifteenth  Amendment,  guaranteeing  the 
negro's  right  to  vote,  as  well  as  the  Fourteenth.  When  it 
passed  the  House  the  bill  lacked  such  a  provision,  which  was 
moved  by  Senator  Morton,  of  Indiana,  an  ultra  Republican. 
Morton  urged  the  adoption  of  the  amendments  as  of  vast 
importance  to  the  country.  If  the  three  recalcitrant  States 
were  commanded  to  ratify  and  did  so,  the  negroes'  ballot 
would  be  once  for  all  assured,  placing  the  South  forever 
in  loyal  hands.  The  unreconstructed  States,  he  said,  ought 
not  to  oppose  this  requirement,  and  their  opposition  was  sad 
evidence  of  their  treacherous  purpose  later  to  amend  their 
Constitutions  so  as  to  strike  down  colored  suffrage.  Senator 
Thurman  replied  that  the  question  concerned  every  State  in 
the  Union.  By  forcing  these  three  States  to  ratify  this 
amendment,  he  declared,  "you  do  not  coerce  them  alone. 
You  coerce  Ohio,  you  coerce  Illinois,  you  coerce  every  State 
whose  people  are  unwilling  to  adopt  the  amendment."  Sen 
ator  Bayard  thought  it  a  most  dangerous  Federal  encroach 
ment  to  take  from  the  States  and  deposit  with  the  Federal 
Government  the  regulation  of  the  elective  franchise,  "the 
power  of  all  powers,  that  which  underlies  and  creates  all 
other  powers."  The  opposition  was,  however,  overborne 
and  by  February,  1870,  the  new  Constitutions,  together  with 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.— 3. 


50  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amendments  to  the  United 
States  Constitution,  had  been  ratified,  and  the  three  belated 
States  again  stood  knocking  at  the  doors  of  Congress. 

The  House  of  Representatives  began  by  declaring  Vir 
ginia  entitled  to  representation  in  the  National  Legislature. 
The  Senate,  more  radical,  influenced  by  the  still  lurking  sus 
picion  of  bad  faith,  amended  this  simple  declaration  with  a 
provision  requiring  the  "test-oath'7  of  loyalty  from  members 
of  the  Legislature  and  public  officers  before  they  should 
resume  their  duties,  at  the  same  time  making  it  a  condition 
that  the  Constitution  of  the  State  should  never  be  so  amended 
as  to  restrict  the  suffrage,  the  right  to  hold  office,  or  the 
privilege  of  attending  public  schools.  Similar  provisos  were 
attached  to  the  resolution  admitting  Senators  and  Represen 
tatives  from  the  other  two  States.  Out  of  sheer  weariness 
the  House  concurred.  By  January  30,  1871,  all  the  States 
were  again  represented  in  both  Houses,  as  in  1860. 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS   A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  51 


CHAPTEK   11. 

GENERAL  GRAXT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF. 

The  Republican  Party  in  1870  —  Its  Defects  —  President  Grant's 
Shortcomings  —  His  First  Cabinet  —  The  Party's  Attitude  To 
ward  the  Tariff — Toward  the  Democracy — Toward  Re-enfran 
chisement  at  the  South — The  Liberal  Movement — The  Democrats 
— The  "New  Departure"  Among  Them  —  Vallandigham  —  John 
Quincy  Adams — Reconstruction — Errors  Committed  Therein — 
The  Fifteenth  Amendment— The  Ku-Klux  Klan— The  Force  Bill 
— Re-enfranchisement  at  the  South — Grant  and  the  Nation's  Fi 
nances — Gould  and  Fisk — Black  Friday — The  Treaty  of  Wash 
ington — Relations  with  Cuba — Proposed  "Annexion"  of  Santo 
Domingo — Simmer  and  the  Administration. 

THE  year  1870  found  the  Republican  party  in  full  power. 
In  the  Senate  of  the  Forty-first  Congress  sat  but  nine  Demo 
crats,  and  out  of  its  two  hundred  and  thirty  Representatives 
only  seventy-five  were  Democrats.  Spite  of  differences  in 
their  own  ranks,  spite  of  the  frantic  struggles  of  the  opposi 
tion,  the  Republican  policy  of  reconstruction  had  been  put 
through  and  consummated  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment, 
"making  all  men  equal."  Sweepingly  victorious  upon  every 
issue  recently  tried,  freed,  moreover,  from  the  incubus  with 
which  President  Johnson  had  weighted  them,  having  elected 
to  the  Executive  chair  of  the  nation  a  hero  whom  practically 
the  entire  party  and  country  trusted,  the  Republicans  could 
not  but  be  in  a  happy  mood.  Xo  wonder  that  the  Repub 
lican  platforms  of  the  different  States  in  1870  and  1871 
breathed  utmost  satisfaction  and  hope. 

This  self-gratulatory  spirit  among  the  Republicans  was 
an  unhealthy  sign.  Honest  as  were  its  rank  and  file  and 
a  majority  of  its  leaders,  much  corruption  defiled  the  party's 
high  places.  "The  early  movements  of  Grant  as  President 
were  very  discouraging.  His  attempt  to  form  a  Cabinet 
without  consultation  with  any  one,  and  with  very  little  knowl- 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

edge,  except  social  intercourse,  of  the  persons  appointed,  cre 
ated  a  doubt  that  he  would  be  as  successful  as  a  President 
as  he  had  been  as  a  general,  a  doubt  that  increased  and  be 
came  a  conviction  in  the  minds  of  many  of  his  best  friends. 
.  .  .  The  impression  prevailed  that  the  President  regarded 
the  heads  of  departments,  invested  by  law  with  specific  and 
independent  duties,  as  mere  subordinates,  whose  functions  he 
might  assume.  ...  It  can  hardly  be  said  that  we  had  a 
strictly  Republican  Administration  during  Grant's  two  terms. 
While  Republicans  were  selected  to  fill  the  leading  offices, 
the  policy  adopted  and  the  controlling  influence  around  him 
were  purely  personal.  He  consulted  but  few  of  the  Senators 
or  members,  and  they  were  known  as  his  personal  friends. 
Mr.  Conkling,  by  his  imperious  will,  soon  gained  a  strong 
influence  over  the  President,  and  from  this  came  feuds, 
jealousies,  and  enmities,  that  greatly  weakened  the  Repub 
lican  party  and  threatened  its  ascendency."  1  In  the  ques 
tions  of  taxation,  debt,  and  finance,  so  important  to  the  wel 
fare  of  all,  Grant  showed  little  interest.  "His  veto  of  the 
bill  to  increase  the  amount  of  United  States  notes,  on  the 
22d  of  April,  1874,  was  an  exception,  but  on  this  he  changed 
his  mind,  as  he  had  expressed  his  approval  of  the  bill  when 
pending."2 

"General  Grant  became  afterward  so  thoroughly  a  party 
man  that  it  is  necessary  to  recall  by  a  positive  effort  that 
his  position  was  looked  upon  as  very  uncertain  when  his 
Administration  begun.  His  report  to  President  Johnson  on 
the  condition  of  the  Southern  States  had  indicated  that  he 
was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  Congressional  plan  of  recon 
struction,  which  was  the  burning  question  of  the  time.  Party 
leaders  were  nervous  lest  he  should  prove  unwilling  to  con 
duct  his  Administration  in  harmony  with  them,  and  in  case 
of  a  break  they  feared  a  total  loss  of  party  control  in  the 
country.  Members  of  the  Administration  were  therefore 

*  John  Sherman's  "Recollections  of  Forty  Years  in  the  House,  Senate, 
and  Cabinet." 
2  Ibid. 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  58 

urged  strenuously  to  make  no  issue  on  what  might  be  re 
garded  as  a  personal  wish  of  the  President,  and  they  shared 
the  opinions  of  their  party  friends  enough  to  make  them  feel 
the  importance  of  avoiding  collision.7'1 

General  Grant's  deficiencies  in  the  Presidential  office 
were,  however,  nearly  all  due  to  faults  of  his  character 
which  were  based  in  virtues.  To  the  man's  moral  and  phys 
ical  courage,  and  his  calm,  but  all  but  stubborn  bearing,  he 
added  a  magnanimity  and  an  unsuspecting  integrity,  which 
were  at  once  his  strength  and  his  weakness.  Herein  lay  the 
secret  of  the  love  men  bore  him  and  of  their  trust  in  him. 
But  these  characteristics  combined  with  his  inexperience  of 
civil  life  to  disarm  him  against  the  dishonorable  subtleties  of 
pretended  friends,  thus  continually  compromising  him.  "A' 
certain  class  of  public  men  adopted  the  practice  of  getting 
an  audience  and  making  speeches  before  him,  urging  their 
plans  with  skilful  advocacy  and  impassioned  manner.  They 
would  then  leave  him  without  asking  for  any  reply,  and  trust 
to  the  effect  they  had  produced.  Perhaps  their  associates 
would  follow  the  matter  up  in  a  similar  way.  It  would  thus 
sometimes  happen  that,  for  lack  of  the  assistance  which  a 
disinterested  adviser  could  give,  his  habitual  reticence  would 
make  him  the  victim  of  sophistries  which  were  not  exposed, 
and  which  his  tenacity  of  purpose  would  make  him  cling  to 
when  once  he  had  accepted  them."2  General  Sherman 
thought  that  his  old  friend,  Grant,  would  be  "made  miser 
able  to  the  end  of  his  life  by  his  eight  years'  experience"  in 
the  Presidency.  As  we  shall  see,  there  was  considerable 
reason  for  this  foreboding.  He  evidently  had  Grant's  case 
chiefly  in  mind  in  regretting  "the  reputations  wrecked  in 
politics  since  1865,"  and  "the  many  otherwise  good  char 
acters"  whom  political  life  had  "poisoned." 

Grant's  first  Cabinet  was  on  the  whole  not  strong,  though' 
comprising  several  thoroughly  competent  men.  Hon.  E.  B. 


1  J.  D.  Cox,  "Atlantic  Monthly,"  August,  1895,  p.  167. 
5J.  D.  Cox,  ibid.  p.  173. 


54  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Washburne,  of  Illinois,  was  at  first  Secretary  of  State,  but 
resigned  to  accept  the  position  of  Minister  to  France.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Hamilton  Fish,  of  New  York,  a  gen 
tleman  of  great  ability,  who  had  been  honorably  prominent 
in  the  politics  of  his  State,  and  had  served  a  term  in  Con 
gress.  The  Interior  Department  was  placed  in  charge  of 
J.  D.  Cox.  A.  E.  Borie  was  made  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
This  appointment  was  much  criticised,  and  Borie  soon  re 
signed,  when  the  place  was  given  to  George  M.  Robeson. 
President  Johnson's  Secretary  of  War,  General  Schofield, 
Grant  retained  for  a  time.  General  Rawlins,  an  excellent 
and  useful  officer,  succeeded  him,  but  died  soon.  His  suc 
cessor  was  William  W.  Belknap.  J.  A.  J.  Creswell  was  Post 
master-General,  E.  Rockwood  Hoar,  Attorney-General.  A. 
T.  Stewart,  the  New  York  millionaire  merchant,  was  named 
for  the  Treasury  portfolio,  and  the  Senate  confirmed  him 
with  the  rest,  but  the  appointment  was  found  to  be  contrary 
to  a  statute  of  1789,  providing  that  no  person  engaged  in 
trade  or  commerce  should  hold  that  office.  Efforts  were 
made  to  remove  the  legal  barrier,  which  failed,  and  George 
S.  Boutwell  was  appointed. 

No  strictly  positive  policy  at  this  time  inspired  the  Re 
publican  body.  Republicans  certainly  opposed  any  repudia 
tion  of  the  war  debt,  whether  by  taxing  bonds  or  by  paying 
the  principal  or  the  interest  of  them  in  dollars  less  valuable 
than  gold  dollars.  But  this  was  only  a  phase  of  the  party's 
war  zeal,  which  always  carried  men's  thought  backward 
rather  than  to  the  future.  Upon  the  tariff  question  it  was 
impossible  to  tell  where  the  party  stood,  though,  clearly, 
the  old  Whig  high-tariff  portion  of  its  constituency  did  not 
yet  dominate.  Nothing  bolder  than  incidental  protection" 
was  urged  by  any  one,  except  where  a  State  or  section,  like 
Maine,  tentatively  commended  some  interest  to  the  "care, 
protection,  and  relief"  of  the  Government.  In  their  public 
utterances  touching  the  tariff  the  two  great  parties  differed 
little.  In  each,  opinion  ran  the  gamut  from  "incidental  pro 
tection,"  where  Democrat  met  Republican  in  amity,  to  aap- 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  55 

proximate  free  trade/'  which  extreme  there  were  not  lack 
ing  Kepublicans  ready  to  embrace  had  the  tariff  been  then  a 
party  issue. 

Instead  of  looking  forward  and  studying  new  national 
interests,  the  party  grounded  its  claims  too  exclusively  upon 
the  "glorious  record"  which  truly  belonged  to  it,  and  upon 
the  alleged  total  depravity  of  the  Democrats  with  the  eter 
nal  incorrigibleness  of  the  South.  Said  Senator  Morton,  of 
Indiana :  "The  Republican  party  .  .  .  could  not  afford  to 
make  a  distinct  issue  on  the  tariff,  civil  service  reform,  or 
any  other  individual  measure ;  it  must  make  its  stand  on  these 
assertions:  The  Democrats,  if  they  return  to  power,  will 
either  take  away  the  pensions  of  the  loyal  soldiers,  or  else 
will  pension  Confederate  soldiers  also ;  will,  when  they  have 
a  majority  in  Congress,  quietly  allow  the  Southern  States 
to  secede  in  peace ;  will  tax  national  bonds  and  unsettle 
everything  generally."  In  January,  1871,  Senator  Henry 
Wilson  wrote :  "To  keep  out  of  power  the  Democratic  party 
and  its  semi-rebellious  adherents  both  North  and  South,  has 
become  a  matter  of  supreme  importance  to  the  nation  and 
to  the  cause  of  humanity  itself." 

There  were,  however,  Republicans  who  by  no  means 
shared  these  views,  and  the  lifting  of  their  hands  already  fore 
shadowed  the  bolt  of  1872.  Not  a  few  Republican  partici 
pants  in  the  war  wished  the  earliest  possible  re-enfranchise 
ment  of  the  Southern  whites.  It  was  this  sentiment  that  car 
ried  West  Virginia  for  the  Democrats  in  1870.  Re-enfran 
chisement  was  a  burning  question  also  in  .Missouri.  At  the 
Republican  convention  in  that  State  the  same  year,  after  a 
hot  discussion,  General  MclSTeil  mounted  a  chair  and  shouted 
"to  the  friends  of  the  enfranchisement  of  the  white  man,  that 
they  would  withdraw  from  this  convention  to  the  Senate 
chamber."  About  a  third  of  the  delegates,  led  by  Carl 
Schurz,  retired,  and  nominated  a  Liberal-Republican  State 
ticket,  headed  by  B.  Gratz  Brown.  Supported  by  most  of  the 
Democrats  who  could  vote,  this  ticket  was  triumphant. 

Early  in  the  year  1871,   at  a  political  meeting  in  St. 


66  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Louis,  was  manifested  the  first  overt  hostility  on  the  part  of 
the  Liberals,  or  "Brownites,"  to  President  Grant.  This  sign 
of  the  times  was  followed  on  March  10th  by  a  meeting  of  a 
dozen  prominent  Republicans  in  Cincinnati,  Ex-Governor 
Cox  and  Stanley  Matthews  being  of  the  number.  They 
drafted  a  report,  which  was  signed  by  a  hundred  well-known 
Republicans,  advancing  four  principles:  (1)  general  amnesty 
to  the  late  Confederates,  (2)  civil  service  reform,  (3)  specie 
payments,  and  (4)  a  revenue  tariff.  During  the  year  the 
"bolt"  took  on  national  importance.  Sympathy  with  it  ap 
peared  throughout  the  country  and  in  Congress,  and  existed 
where  it  did  not  appear.  Influenced  by  Mr.  Simmer,  even  the 
Massachusetts  Republican  Convention,  without  going  further, 
condemned,  impliedly,  Grant's  foreign  policy.  Finally  a  call 
was  issued  from  Missouri  for  a  National  Convention,  to  be 
held  at  Cincinnati  on  May  1, 1872,  in  opposition  to  Grant  and 
his  Administration. 

In  impotent  wrath  and  bitterness  proportioned  to  the 
apparent  prosperity  of  the  Republicans,  stood  the  Democ 
racy.  The  more  strenuous  its  opposition  to  a  "godly  thor 
ough  reformation"  of  unrepentant  rebels,  the  more  determin 
edly  had  the  people  rebuked  it  at  the  polls.  Hardly  more 
inclined  were  the  people  to  follow  it  upon  the  great  question 
of  the  public  debt,  where  the  party  demanded  that  the  five- 
twenties  should  be  redeemed  in  greenbacks — "the  same  money 
for  the  plowholder  and  the  bondholder" — and  that  all  national 
bonds  or  the  interest  thereon  should  be  taxed.  Even  in  the 
South  the  leaders  began  to  see  that  the  true  policy  of  "The 
Reform  Party" — the  Democracy's  nom  de  guerre — was  that 
voiced  by  the  South  Carolina  Convention  in  1870,  which  pro 
posed  to  "accept  the  results  of  the  war  as  settled  facts"  and 
make  the  best  of  them,  striking  out  for  new  issues.  This  was 
the  keynote  of  the  "New  Departure"  led  by  Clement  L.  Val- 
landigham,  of  Ohio.  Vallandigham  had  been  the  most  ex 
treme  "copperhead"  in  all  the  North.  By  his  outspokenness 
in  defence  of  the  Confederacy  during  the  war  he  had  got  him 
self  imprisoned  and  banished  to  the  South.  It  was  signifi- 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  57 

cant,  therefore,  when,  in  his  last  public  utterance — he  acci 
dentally  shot  himself  a  month  later — his  voice  once  more 
joined  that  of  South  Carolina,  this  time  in  accepting  athe 
results  of  the  war,  including  the  three  several  amendments 
de  facto,  as  a  settlement  in  fact  of  all  the  issues  of  the  war." 
Chief  Justice  Chase  wrote  Vallandigham,  praising  his  action 
as  a  agreat  service  to  the  country  and  the  party,"  and  "as  the 
restoration  of  the  Democratic  party  to  its  ancient  platform  of 
progress  and  reform."  John  Quincy  Adams,  Democratic  can 
didate  for  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  like  Vallandigham,  pro 
posed  a  hearty  acquiescence  in  what  was  past,  and  "deplored 
the  halting  and  hesitating  step  with  which  the  Democracy  was 
sneaking  up  to  its  inevitable  position."  "The  South,"  he 
continued,  "is  galled  to-day  not  by  the  presence  of  the  Fif 
teenth  Amendment,  but  by  the  utter  absence  of  the  Constitu 
tion  itself.  Is  it  not  silly  then  to  squabble  about  an  amend 
ment  which  would  cease  to  be  obnoxious  if  it  was  not  de 
tached  from  its  context  2" 

The  method  of  reconstruction  resorted  to  by  Congress 
occasioned  dreadful  evils.  It  ignored  the  natural  prejudices 
of  the  whites,  many  of  whom  were  as  loyal  as  any  citizens  in 
the  land.  To  most  people  in  that  section,  as  well  as  to  very 
many  at  the  North,  this  dictation  by  Congress  to  acknowl 
edged  States  in  time  of  peace  seemed  high-handed  usurpation. 
If  Congress  can  do  this,  it  was  said,  any  State  can  be  forced 
to  change  its  constitution  on  account  of  any  act  which  Con 
gress  dislikes.  This  did  not  necessarily  follow,  as  reconstruc 
tion  invariably  presupposed  an  abnormal  condition,  viz.,  the 
State's  emersion  from  a  rebellion  which  had  involved  the  State 
government,  whose  overthrow,  with  the  rebellion,  necessitated 
Congressional  interference.  Yet  the  inference  was  natural 
and  widely  drawn. 

"Congress  was  wrong  in  the  exclusion  from  suffrage  of  cer 
tain  classes  of  citizens,  and  of  all  unable  to  take  a  prescribed 
retrospective  oath,  and  wrong  also  in  the  establishment  of 
arbitrary  military  governments  for  the  States,  and  in  author 
izing  military  commissions  for  the  trial  of  civilians  in  timo 


68  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  peace.  There  should  have  been  as  little  military  govern 
ment  as  possible;  no  military  commissions,  no  classes 
excluded  from  suffrage,  and  no  oath  except  one  of  faithful 
obedience  and  support  to  the  Constitution  and  laws,  and 
sincere  attachment  to  the  Constitutional  Government  of 
the  United  States."  1 

"It  is  a  question  of  grave  doubt  whether  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  though  right  in  principle,  was  wise  or  expedient. 
The  declared  object  was  to  secure  impartial  suffrage  to  the 
negro  race.  The  practical  result  has  been  that  the  wise  pro 
visions  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  have  been  modified  by 
the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  The  latter  amendment  has  been 
practically  nullified  by  the  action  of  most  of  the  States  where 
the  great  body  of  this  race  live  and  will  probably  always 
remain.  This  is  done  not  by  an  express  denial  to  them  of 
the  right  of  suffrage,  but  by  ingenious  provisions,  which  ex 
clude  them  on  the  alleged  ground  of  ignorance,  while  permit 
ting  all  of  the  white  race,  however  ignorant,  to  vote  at  all 
elections,  ^o  way  is  pointed  out  by  which  Congress  can 
enforce  this  amendment.  If  the  principle  of  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment  had  remained  in  full  force,  Congress  could  have 
reduced  the  representation  of  any  State,  in  the  proportion 
which  the  number  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  de 
nied  the  right  of  suffrage,  might  bear  to  the  whole  number  of 
male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age,  in  such  State.  This 
simple  remedy,  easily  enforced  by  Congress,  would  have  se 
cured  the  right  of  all  persons,  without  distinction  of  race  or 
color,  to  vote  at  all  elections.  The  reduction  of  the  represen 
tation  would  have  deterred  every  State  from  excluding  the 
vote  of  any  portion  of  the  male  population  above  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  As  the  result  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment, 
the  political  power  of  the  States  lately  in  rebellion  has  been 
increased  while  the  population  conferring  this  increase  is 
practically  denied  all  political  power.  I  see  no  remedy  for 
this  wrong  except  the  growing  intelligence  of  the  negro  race."  a 

i  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Letter  to  Democratic  National  Committee  in  1873. 
5  John  Sherman,   "Recollections." 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  59 

If  the  South  was  to  become  again  genuine  part  and  par 
cel  of  this  Union,  it  would  not,  nor  would  the  l^orth  consent 
that  it  should,  remain  permanently  under  military  govern 
ment.  Black  legislatures  abused  their  power,  becoming  in 
struments  of  carpet-bag  leaders  and  rings  in  robbing  white 
property-holders.  Only  doctrinaires  or  the  stupid  could  have 
expected  that  the  whites  would  long  submit.  So  soon  as  Fed 
eral  bayonets  were  gone,  fair  means  or  foul  were  certain  to 
remove  the  sceptre  from  colored  hands.  Precisely  this  hap 
pened.  Without  the  slightest  formal  change  of  constitution 
or  of  statute  the  Southern  States  one  by  one  passed  into  the 
control  of  their  white  inhabitants. 

Where  white  men's  aims  could  not  be  realized  by  per 
suasion  or  other  mild  means,  resort  was  had  to  intimidation 
and  force.  The  chief  instrumentality  at  first  used  for  keep 
ing  colored  voters  from  the  polls  was  the  Ku-Klux  Klan,  a  se 
cret  society  organized  in  Tennessee  in  1866.  It  sprung  from 
the  old  night  patrol  of  slavery  times.  Then,  every  Southern 
gentleman  used  to  serve  on  this  patrol,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
whip  severely  every  negro  found  absent  from  home  without 
a  pass  from  his  master.  Its  first  post  helium  work  was  not  ill- 
meant,  and  its  severities  came  on  gradually.  Its  greatest 
activity  was  in  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and  Mississippi,  where 
its  awful  mysteries  and  grewsome  rites  spread  utter  panic 
among  the  superstitious  blacks.  Men  visited  negroes'  huts 
and  "mummicked"  about,  at  first  with  sham  magic,  not  with 
arms  at  all.  One  would  carry  a  flesh  bag  in  the  shape  of  a 
heart  and  go  around  "hollering  for  fried  nigger  meat."  An 
other  would  put  on  an  India-rubber  stomach  to  startle  the 
negroes  by  swallowing  pailfuls  of  water.  Another  represented 
that  he  had  been  killed  at  Manassas,  since  which  time  "some 
one  had  built  a  turnpike  over  his  grave  and  he  had  to  scratch 
like  h — 1  to  get  up  through  the  gravel."  The  lodges  were 
"dens,"  the  members  "ghouls."  "Giants,"  "goblins,"  "titans," 
"furies,"  "dragons,"  and  "hydras"  were  names  of  different 
classes  among  the  officers. 

Usually  the  mere  existence  of  a  "den"   anywhere  was 


60  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

sufficient  to  render  docile  every  negro  in  the  vicinity.  If 
more  was  required,  a  half-dozen  "ghouls,"  making  their  noc 
turnal  rounds  in  their  hideous  masks  and  long  white  gowns, 
frightened  all  but  the  most  hardy.  Any  who  showed  fight 
were  whipped,  maimed,  or  killed,  treatment  which  was  ex 
tended  on  occasion  to  their  "carpet-bag"  and  "scalawag" 
friends — these  titles  denoting  respectively  Northern  and 
Southern  men  who  took  the  negroes'  side.  The  very  violence 
of  the  order,  which  it  at  last  turned  against  the  old  Southrons 
themselves,  brought  it  into  disrepute  with  its  original  instiga 
tors,  who  were  not  sorry  when  Federal  marshals,  put  up  to  it 
by  President  Grant,  hunted  den  after  den  of  the  law-breakers 
to  the  death. 

In  1870  and  1871,  by  the  so-called  Force  Bills,  Federal 
judges  were  given  cognizance  of  suits  against  any  one  for 
depriving  another  of  rights,  privileges,  or  immunities  under 
the  Constitution.  Fine  and  imprisonment  were  made  the 
penalties  for  "conspiracy"  against  the  United  States  or  the 
execution  of  its  laws,  as  by  forcibly  or  through  intimidation 
preventing  men  from  voting.  The  army  and  navy  were  placed 
at  the  service  of  the  President  to  enforce  the  act,  and  Federal 
judges  might  exclude  suspected  persons  from  sitting  on  juries. 
By  this  drastic  measure  and  its  rigorous  execution  in  nine 
counties  of  South  Carolina  the  organization  was  by  1873 
driven  out  of  existence.  But  some  of  its  methods  survived. 
In  1875  several  States  adopted  and  successfully  worked  the 
"Mississippi  plan,"  which  was,  by  whatever  necessary  means, 
to  nullify  black  votes  until  white  majorities  were  assured. 
Less  violent  than  the  Ku-Klux  way,  this  new  one  was  equally 
thorough. 

Considering  the  stupendous  upheaval  in  Southern  society 
marked  by  the  erection  of  bondmen  into  full  citizens,  dark 
days  were  few.  Schools  arose.  The  ballot  itself  proved  an 
educator,  rough  but  thorough.  The  negro  vote,  become  a 
fixed  fact,  was  courted  by  the  jarring  factions  of  whites,  and 
hence  to  some  extent  protected.  Meanwhile  it  was  plainly  to 
the  negro's  advantage  that  he  was  fighting,  not  to  acquire 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  61 

status  and  rights,  but  for  status  and  rights  guaranteed  in  the 
organic  law  of  his  State. 

It  yet  remained  to  restore  the  disfranchised  whites  and  to 
remove  the  political  disabilities  imposed  by  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment.  Except  in  the  case  of  a  few  leaders,  the  disa 
bilities  were  annulled  by  the  Act  of  Amnesty  passed  May  22, 
1872.  At  about  the  same  time  general  re-enfranchisement 
was  accomplished  by  State  legislation,  Liberal-Republicans 
joining  with  those  Democrats,  specially  numerous  in  Missouri 
and  West  Virginia,  who  already  enjoyed  the  right  of  suffrage. 

By  March,  1866,  the  price  of  gold  in  paper  money  had 
fallen  from  war  figures  to  130J.  There  was  much  illegiti 
mate  speculation  in  the  metal,  dealing  in  "phantom  gold" — 
mere  betting,  that  is,  on  gold  fluctuations.  Prominent  among 
the  operators  was  the  firm  of  Smith,  Gould,  Martin  &  Co. 
The  mind  of  the  firm  was  Jay  Gould,  a  dark  little  man,  with 
cold,  glittering  eyes.  Closely  associated  with  him  was  James 
!Fisk,  a  vulgar  and  unprincipled  yet  shrewd  and  bold  man  of 
business.  During  the  spring  of  1869  Gould  bought  $7,000,- 
000  or  $8,000,000  in  gold,  immediately  loaning  it  again  on 
demand  notes.  There  being  not  over  $20,000,000  gold  avail 
able  outside  the  Treasury,  the  business  community,  in  case 
of  any  call  for  gold,  was  at  his  mercy,  unless  the  Treasury 
should  sell.  This  must  be  prevented. 

In  June,  1869,  President  Grant,  on  a  trip  from  New 
York  to  Boston,  accepted  a  place  in  a  private  box  of  the 
theatre  which  Fisk  owned,  and  next  day  took,  at  the  invita 
tion  of  Fisk  and  Gould,  one  of  their  magnificent  steamers  to 
Fall  River.  After  a  handsome  supper  the  hosts  skilfully 
turned  the  conversation  to  the  financial  situation.  Grant  re 
marked  that  he  thought  there  was  a  certain  fictitiousness  in 
the  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  that  the  bubble  might  as 
well  be  tapped.  This  suggestion  "struck  across  us,"  said  Mr. 
Gould,  later,  "like  a  wet  blanket."  Another  wire  must  be 
pulled. 

Facts  and  figures  were  now  heaped  together  and  pub 
lished  to  prove  that,  should  gold  rise  in  this  country  about 


62  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

harvest  time,  grain,  the  price  of  which,  being  fixed  in  Liver 
pool,  was  independent  of  currency  fluctuations,  would  be 
worth  so  much  the  more  and  would  at  once  be  hurried  abroad ; 
but  that  to  secure  this  blessing  Government  must  not  sell  any 
gold.  Gould  laid  still  other  pipes.  Fisk  visited  the  Presi 
dential  sphinx  at  Newport ;  others  saw  him  at  Washington. 
At  New  York  Gould  buttonholed  him  so  assiduously  that  he 
was  obliged  to  open  his  lips  to  rebuke  his  servant  for  giving 
Gould  such  ready  access  to  him. 

The  President  seems  to  have  been  persuaded  that  a  rise 
in  gold  while  the  crops  were  moving  would  advantage  the 
country.  At  any  rate,  orders  were  given  early  in  September 
to  sell  only  gold  sufficient  to  buy  bonds  for  the  sinking  fund. 
The  conspirators  redoubled  their  purchases.  The  price  of 
gold  rose  till,  two  days  before  Black  Friday,  it  stood  at  140J. 

Though  he  kept  it  to  himself  Gould  was  in  terror  lest  the 
Treasury  floodgates  should  be  opened  to  prevent  a  panic. 
Business  was  palsied,  and  the  bears  were  importuning  the 
Government  to  sell.  At  his  wits'  end  he  wrote  Secretary 
Boutwell : 

"SiR — There  is  a  panic  in  Wall  Street,  engineered  by  a 
bear  combination.  They  have  withdrawn  currency  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  is  impossible  to  do  ordinary  business.  The  Erie 
Company  requires  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  disburse 
.  .  .  much  of  it  in  Ohio,  where  an  exciting  political  contest 
is  going  on,  and  where  we  have  about  ten  thousand  men  em 
ployed,  and  the  trouble  is  charged  on  the  Administration. 
...  Can  not  you,  consistently,  increase  your  line  of  cur 
rency  ?" 

Gould,  like  Major  Bagstock,  was  "devilish  sly,  sir."  In 
his  desperation  he  determined  to  turn  "bear"  and,  if  neces 
sary,  rend  in  pieces  Fisk  himself.  Saying  nothing  of  his  fears, 
he  encouraged  Fisk  boldly  to  keep  on  buying,  while  he  him 
self  secretly  began  to  sell.  Fisk  fell  into  the  trap,  and  his 
partner,  taking  care  in  his  sales  to  steer  clear  of  Fisk's  brok 
ers,  proceeded  secretly  and  swiftly  to  unload  his  gold  and 
fulfil  all  his  contracts.  From  this  moment  they  acted  each  by 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  63 

and  for  himself,  Gould  operating  through  his  firm  and  Fisk 
through  an  old  partner  of  his  named  Belden. 

On  Thursday,  September  23d,  while  his  broker,  Speyers, 
is  buying,  Fisk  coolly  walks  into  the  Gold  Room  and,  amid 
the  wildest  excitement,  offers  to  bet  any  part  of  $50,000  that 
gold  will  rise  to  200.  Xot  a  man  dares  take  his  bet. 

On  Black  Friday  the  Gold  Room  is  crowded  two  hours  be 
fore  the  time  of  business.  In  the  centre  excited  brokers  are 
betting,  swearing,  and  quarreling,  many  of  them  pallid  with 
fear  of  ruin,  others  hilarious  in  expectation  of  big  commis 
sions.  In  a  back  office  across  from  the  Gold  Room,  Fisk,  in 
shirt  sleeves,  struts  up  and  down,  declaring  himself  the  Napo 
leon  of  the  street.  At  this  time  the  Ring  was  believed  to  hold 
in  gold  and  in  contracts  to  deliver  the  same  over  $100,- 
000,000. 

Speyers,  whom  all  suppose  to  represent  Gould  as  well  as 
Fisk,  begins  by  offering  145,  then  146,  147,  148,  149,  but 
none  will  sell.  "Put  it  up  to  150,"  Fisk  orders,  and  gold 
rises  to  that  figure.  At  150  a  half  million  is  sold  him  by  Mr. 
James  Brown,  who  had  quietly  organized  a  band  of  merchants 
to  meet  the  gamblers  on  their  own  ground.  From  all  over  the 
country  the  "shorts'7  are  telegraphing  orders  to  buy.  Speyers 
is  informed  that  if  he  continues  to  put  up  gold  he  will  be  shot ; 
but  he  goes  on  offering  151,  152,  153,  154.  Still  none  will 
sell.  Meantime  the  victims  of  the  corner  are  summoned  to 
pay  in  cash  the  difference  between  135,  at  which  the  gold  was 
borrowed,  and  150,  at  which  the  firm  is  willing  to  settle. 
Fearing  lest  gold  go  to  200,  many  settle  at  148.  At  155, 
amid  the  tremendous  roar  of  the  bull  brokers  bidding  higher 
and  higher,  Brown  again  sells  half  a  million.  "160  for  any 
part  of  five  millions."  Brown  sells  a  million  more.  "161 
for  five  millions."  No  bid.  "162  for  five  millions."  At  first 
no  response.  Again,  "162  for  any  part  of  five  millions."  A1 
voice  is  heard,  "Sold  one  million  at  162."  "163£  for  five 
millions."  "Sold  five  millions  at  163  J."  Crash!  The 
market  has  been  broken,  and  by  Gould's  sales.  Every 
body  now  begins  to  sell,  when  the  news  comes  that  the  Gov- 


64  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

eminent  has  telegraphed  to  sell  four  millions.  Gold  instantly 
falls  to  140,  then  to  133.  "Somebody,"  cried  Fisk,  "has  run 
a  saw  right  into  us.  We  are  forty  miles  down  the  Delaware 
and  don't  know  where  we  are.  Our  phantom  gold  can't  stand 
the  weight  of  the  real  stuff." 

Gould  has  no  mind  permanently  to  ruin  his  partner.  He 
coolly  suggests  that  Fisk  has  only  to  repudiate  his  contracts, 
and  Fisk  complies.  His  offers  to  buy  gold  he  declares  aoff," 
making  good  only  a  single  one  of  them,  as  to  which  he  was  so 
placed  that  he  had  no  option.  What  was  due  him,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  collected  to  the  uttermost  dollar.  To  prevent 
being  mobbed  the  pair  encircled  their  opera-house  with  armed 
toughs  and  fled  thither.  There  no  civil  process  or  other  mo 
lestation  was  likely  to  reach  them.  Presently  certain  of 
athe  thieves'  judges,"  as  they  were  called,  came  to  their  relief 
by  issuing  injunctions  estopping  all  transactions  connected 
with  the  conspiracy  which  would  have  been  disadvantageous 
for  the  conspirators. 

Far  the  strongest  side  of  Grant's  Administration  was  the 
State  Department,  headed  by  the  clever  diplomat,  Hamilton 
Fish,  one  of  the  most  successful  Secretaries  of  State  who  ever 
served  our  country.  Here  distinguished  ability  and  abso 
lute  integrity  reigned  and  few  mistakes  were  made.  Were 
there  no  other  testimony,  the  Treaty  of  Washington  would 
sufficiently  attest  Mr.  Fish's  mastery  of  his  office.  Ever  since 
1863  we  had  been  seeking  satisfaction  from  Great  Britain  for 
the  depredations  committed  during  the  war  by  Confederate 
cruisers  sailing  from  British  ports.  Negotiations  were  broken 
off  in  1865  and  again  in  1868.  In  1869  Eeverdy  Johnson, 
then  our  Minister  to  England,  negotiated  a  treaty,  but  the 
Senate  rejected  it.  In  January,  1871,  the  British  Govern 
ment  having  proposed  a  joint  commission  for  the  settlement 
of  questions  connected  with  the  Canadian  fisheries,  Mr.  Fish 
replied  that  the  adjudication  of  the  "Alabama  Claims"  would 
have  to  be  first  considered,  "as  an  essential  to  the  restoration 
of  cordial  and  amicable  relations  between  the  two  Govern 
ments."  England  consented  to  submit  this  question  also  to 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  65 

the  commission,  and  on  February  27th  the  High  Commis 
sioners  met  at  Washington.  The  British  delegation  included, 
besides  several  noblemen,  Sir  E.  Thornton,  the  Queen's  Min 
ister  at  Washington,  Sir  John  Macdonald,  of  Canada,  and 
Mountague  Bernard,  Professor  of  International  Law  at  Ox 
ford.  The  American  commissioners  were  the  Secretary  of 
State  himself,  Justice  E"elson  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Robert 
C.  Schenck,  our  Minister  to  England,  E.  Rockwood  Hoar, 
late  United  States  Attorney-General,  and  George  H.  Wil 
liams,  Senator  from  Oregon. 

On  May  8th  the  commission  completed  a  treaty,  which 
was  speedily  ratified  by  both  Governments.  It  provided  for 
arbitration  upon  the  "Alabama  Claims,"  upon  other  claims  by 
citizens  of  either  country  against  the  other  for  damages  during 
the  Rebellion,  upon  the  fisheries,  and  upon  the  Northwest 
boundary  of  the  United  States.  The  principal  settlements 
happily  arrived  at  in  this  way  will  be  described  later. 

In  1868  the  "Junta  of  Laborers"  in  Cuba  inaugurated  a 
rebellion  against  the  mother-country.  By  1870  most  South 
American  States  had  recognized  them  as  belligerents,  and  they 
were  eager  that  the  United  States  should  do  the  same.  The 
sympathies  of  our  people  and  Government  were  with  them. 
In  the  summer  of  1869  Secretary  Fish,  directed  by  the  Presi 
dent,  had  prepared  and  signed  a  proclamation  according  to 
the  insurgents  the  rights  of  belligerents,  but  owing  to  the 
Secretary's  firm  unwillingness  this  document  was  never  is 
sued.  In  July,  1870,  the  President  changed  his  mind,  heart 
ily  thanking  Mr.  Fish  for  restraining  him  from  issuing  the 
belligerency  message.  The  good  offices  of  the  United  States 
were,  however,  tendered,  with  the  view  of  inducing  Spain  to 
recognize  Cuba's  independence,  preventing  further  bloodshed  ; 
but  the  overtures  were  declined. 

Spain's  barbarous  method  of  warring  excited  horror. 
The  Spanish  Captain-General  in  Cuba  freely  sequestrated 
property,  to  whomsoever  belonging,  ordered  shot  every  male 
over  fifteen  years  of  age  found  outside  his  premises  without 
good  excuse,  burned  every  uninhabited  hut  and  every  hamlet 


66  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

not  flying  a  white  flag.  Such  procedure  called  forth  our  re 
monstrance,  which,  in  conjunction  with  the  known  sympathy 
of  Americans  for  the  rebels,  greatly  irritated  Spain.  Our 
legation  house  at  Madrid  was  threatened,  our  vessels  in  one 
or  two  instances  brought  to  by  Spanish  men-of-war,  and  a 
number  of  our  citizens  in  Cuba  and  on  the  high  seas  mal 
treated  or  killed.  Two  American  citizens,  Speakman  and 
Wyeth,  embarked  by  mistake  in  a  vessel  carrying  an  insur 
rectionary  force  destined  for  Cuba.  They  gave  themselves 
up,  but  were  brutally  murdered  after  the  merest  form  of  a 
trial.  This  was  exasperating  enough ;  but  when,  on  October 
31,  1873,  the  Virginius,  belonging  to  an  American  citizen, 
was  captured  on  the  high  seas  off  Jamaica  by  the  Spanish 
man-of-war  Tornado,  the  American  flag  hauled  down,  and 
Captain  Fry,  with  fifty-six  of  his  ship's  company — nine  of 
them  American  citizens  —  shot,  for  some  weeks  hostilities 
seemed  actually  imminent.  The  Virginius's  errand  was  in 
spirit  illegal,  perhaps  literally  so.  Many  revolutionists  were 
on  board,  also  2,000  Eemington  rifles,  a  mitrailleuse,  and  a 
large  supply  of  ammunition  and  provisions  for  the  insurgents. 
According  to  the  best  authorities,  Spain  was  quite  justified  in 
seizing  the  vessel,  though  Attorney-General  Hoar  denied  this, 
but  not  in  putting  to  death  those  on  board  with  no  trial  but  a 
drumhead  court-martial. 

When  the  news  of  the  outrage  reached  this  country  innu 
merable  indignation  meetings  were  held.  President  Grant 
convoked  his  Cabinet  to  deliberate  upon  the  case,  and  the  navy 
yards  were  set  working  night  and  day.  The  Spanish  Min 
ister  of  State  at  first  haughtily  rejected  our  protest,  saying 
that  Spain  would  decide  the  question  according  to  law  and 
her  dignity.  Madrid  mobs  violently  demonstrated  against 
the  American  Minister,  General  Sickles.  November  4th, 
Secretary  Eish  cabled  Sickles:  "In  case  of  refusal  of  satis 
factory  reparation  within  twelve  days  from  this  date,  you 
will,  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  close  your  legation  and 
will,  together  with  your  secretary,  leave  Madrid."  On  the 
15th,  hearing  that  fifty-seven  men  had  been  executed,  he  sent 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS   A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  67 

word:  "If  Spain  can  not  redress  these  outrages  the  United 
States  will."  And  on  November  25  :  "If  no  accommodation 
is  reached  by  the  close  of  to-morrow,  leave."  Next  day  Spain 
became  tractable  and  Sickles  remained.  War  was  happily 
averted.  Spain  released  the  Virginius  and  all  the  surviving 
prisoners.  Having  been,  on  December  16th,  delivered  to 
officers  of  our  navy,  the  ship,  flying  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
proudly  sailed  for  !N"ew  York,  but  foundered  in  an  ocean 
storm.  The  prisoners  freed  reached  New  York  in  safety. 
Spain  solemnly  disclaimed  all  thought  of  indignity  to  our 
flag,  and  undertook  to  prosecute  any  of  her  subjects  guilty, 
in  this  affair,  of  violating  our  treaty  rights. 

President  Grant's  negotiations  for  the  annexation  of  the 
turbulent  little  republic  known  as  Santo  Domingo — "Holy 
Sabbath,"  a  bit  of  unconscious  irony — ended  less  happily. 
The  strategic  situation  of  the  island  is  good,  and  its  aspect 
inviting — luxurious  and  fertile  valleys  between  grand  ranges 
of  volcanic  mountains.  The  heat  is  tempered  day  and  night 
by  sea-breezes — sometimes  rising  to  hurricanes.  The  rich 
mineral  and  other  resources  of  the  island  were  known  in 
1870,  but  little  exploited.  A  tenth  of  the  people  were  white, 
living  mainly  in  the  sea-board  towns.  The  rest  were  hybrid 
descendants  of  the  man-eating  Caribs  and  of  the  buccaneers 
and  warlike  negroes  who  fought  under  Toussaint  L'Ouver- 
ture. 

Embarrassed  with  a  rival,  President  Baez  wished  to  turn 
his  domain  over  to  us,  as  a  predecessor  of  his  had  in  like  case 
once  given  it  to  Spain.  He  indicated  his  desire  to  President 
Grant,  who  despatched  Col.  Babcock,  his  assistant  private 
secretary,  to  report  upon  the  country,  its  people,  its  harbors, 
etc.  No  member  of  the  Cabinet  favored  the  mission,  yet 
none  officially  objected.  The  State  Department  had  nothing 
to  do  with  arranging  it.  !N~ew  York  merchants  trading  to 
Santo  Domingo  offered  Babcock  passage  thither,  showing  that 
his  proposed  mission  was  known,  and  he  would  have  accepted 
their  offered  favor  but  for  Secretary  Fish's  protest.  Trans 
portation  for  him  by  the  navy  was  then  ordered,  and  it  was 


68  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

found  that  he  was  to  bo  accompanied  by  Senator  Cole,  of 
California,  and  an  officer  from  the  Inspector-General's  de 
partment  who  spoke  Spanish.  "As  the  members  of  the  Cab 
inet  were  carefully  discreet  in  their  reticence,  the  increase  of 
the  party  and  of  the  apparent  importance  of  the  mission 
caused  a  certain  uneasiness,  especially  as  rumors  began  to  fly 
about  that  business  speculations  were  involved,  and  that  the 
official  character  of  the  affair  was  much  less  than  its  real 
significance.  The  members  of  the  Government  felt  loyally 
bound  to  suppress  their  own  doubts,  and  to  attribute  to  the 
excitability  of  the  quidnuncs  the  rumors  of  important  pur 
poses  connected  with  Babcock's  voyage."  l 

Babcock  returned  bearing  a  draft  of  a  treaty  containing 
an  agreement  to  cede  Santo  Domingo  to  the  United  States 
out-and-out  for  something  over  a  million  dollars,  or  to  accept 
our  protectorate  over  it,  at  the  same  time  giving  us  a  fifty- 
year  lease  of  the  important  bay  and  harbor  of  Samana.  Pres 
ident  Grant  had  become  intensely  anxious  to  acquire  this 
realm.  It  would  afford  us  a  coaling  and  naval  station  and 
a  commercial  entrepot,  enrich  the  United  States  and  extend 
its  power,  and  open  a  region  which  the  American  negro  could 
colonize  and  manage.  At  the  first  Cabinet  meeting  after  his 
arrival  in  Washington  Babcock  appeared,  showing  each  mem 
ber  as  he  arrived  "specimens  of  the  ores  and  products  of  the 
island  and  descanting  upon  its  extraordinary  value.  He  met 
a  rather  chilling  reception,  and  soon  left  the  room.  It  had 
been  the  President's  habit  at  such  meetings  to  call  upon  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  to  bring  forward  the  business  con 
tained  in  their  portfolios,  beginning  with  the  Secretary  of 
State.  This  would  at  once  have  brought  the  action  of  Bab 
cock  up  by  Mr.  Fish's  disclaimer  of  all  part  in  the  matter, 
and  his  statement  of  its  utter  illegality.  On  this  occasion, 
however,  General  Grant  departed  from  his  uniform  custom, 
and  took  the  initiative.  'Babcock  has  returned,  as  you  see/ 


1  This  and  the  next  following  quotations  are  from  J.  D.  Cox's  inter 
esting  article,  already  cited  in  this  chapter. 


GENERAL   GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  69 

said  he,  'and  has  brought  a  treaty  of  annexation.  I  suppose 
it  is  not  formal,  as  he  had  no  diplomatic  powers ;  but  we  can 
easily  cure  that.  We  can  send  back  the  treaty  and  have 
Perry,  the  consular  agent,  sign  it;  and,  as  he  is  an  officer  of 
the  State  Department,  it  would  make  it  all  right.'  ' 

"But,  Mr.  President,"  said  Mr.  Secretary  Cox,  "has  it 
been  settled,  then,  that  we  ivant  to  annex  Santo  Domingo  ?" 

General  Grant  "colored,  and  smoked  hard  at  his  cigar. 
He  glanced  at  Mr.  Fish  on  his  right,  but  the  face  of  the  Sec 
retary  was  impassive,  and  his  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  portfolio 
before  him.  He  turned  to  Mr.  Boutwell  on  his  left,  but  no 
response  met  him  there.  As  the  silence  became  painful,  the 
President  called  for  another  item  of  business,  and  left  the 
question  unanswered.  The  subject  was  never  again  brought 
up  before  the  assembled  Cabinet." 

The  treaty  was  put  into  form,  signed  on  November  29, 
1869,  and  sent  to  the  Senate  the  following  month.  Violent 
opposition  to  it  was  at  once  manifest,  of  which  Mr.  Sumner 
was  the  soul.  Sumner  was  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Com 
mittee  on  Foreign  Relations,  and  in  whatever  related  to  this 
committee's  work  was  inclined  to  domineer.  He  had  not 
agreed  with  Secretary  Fish  or  the  President  respecting  the 
ground  of  our  war  complaint  against  England.  "Sumner 
insisted  that  the  hasty  proclamation  by  Great  Britain  of  neu 
trality  between  the  United  States  and  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy  was  the  gravamen  of  the  Alabama  Claims.  The  Presi 
dent  and  Mr.  Fish  contended  that  this  proclamation  was  an 
act  of  which  we  could  not  complain,  except  as  an  indication 
of  an  unfriendly  spirit  by  Great  Britain,  and  that  the  true 
basis  of  the  Alabama  Claims  was  that  Great  Britain,  after 
proclaiming  neutrality,  did  not  enforce  it,  but  allowed  her 
subjects  to  build  cruisers,  and  man,  arm,  and  use  them,  under 
cover  of  the  rebel  flag,  to  the  destruction  of  our  commercial 
navy." 

The  President,  Sumner  now  said,  had  violated  our  Con 
stitution  in  negotiating  the  Santo  Domingo  treaty  as  he  did ; 
he  was  also  conniving  at  an  infringement  of  the  Dominican 


70  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

constitution,  which  forbade  alienating  any  part  of  that  land ; 
and  was  traversing  international  law  by  a  menace  to  the  in 
dependence  of  Haiti.  Santo  Domingo,  he  alleged,  with  its  un 
desirable  population,  was  in  continual  turmoil,  had  cost  Spain 
more  blood  and  treasure  than  it  was  worth,  and  been  lost  to 
her  after  all.  Baez  he  denounced  as  a  "political  jockey,"  and 
he  declared  that  adventurers  were  abusing  the  President's 
confidence,  as  it  was  beginning  to  be  suspected  they  had  done 
in  regard  to  "Black  Friday"  the  September  previous.  Writ 
ing  to  Garrison,  December  29,  1870,  and  referring  to  his 
speech  on  the  "annexion"  of  Santo  Domingo,  Sumner  said 
that  the  Haitian  Minister  had  previously  visited  him,  "full 
of  emotion  at  the  message  of  the  President  as  'trampling  his 
country  under  foot.' ' 

President  Grant  did  his  utmost  to  secure  ratification  for 
the  treaty.  Having  expired  by  limitation  on  May  21st,  it 
was  renewed  and  sent  to  the  Senate  again  on  the  31st.  Di 
rect  application  to  Senators  in  this  interest  was  made  on  the 
President's  behalf,  a  course  generally  felt  to  be  very  objec 
tionable.  Republican  politicians  became  divided  touching 
annexation,  and  the  utmost  bitterness  of  feeling  prevailed. 
Secretary  Fish's  position  pending  this  business  was  extremely 
embarrassing.  An  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Sumner,  he  was 
accustomed  freely  to  discuss  with  him  all  diplomatic  affairs. 
"He  had  honestly  treated  the  talk  of  Dominican  annexation 
as  mere  gossip,  without  solid  foundation,  and  now  he  sud 
denly  found  his  sincerity  in  question,  under  circumstances 
which  forbade  him  to  say  how  gravely  the  State  Department 
had  been  compromised."  Twice  during  the  episode  he  of 
fered  his  resignation,  but  the  President's  earnest  entreaty, 
backed  by  that  of  leaders  anxious  to  avoid  a  breach  in  the 
party,  each  time  induced  him  not  to  insist  on  its  acceptance. 
"But  the  progress  of  the  Santo  Domingo  business  put  Mr. 
Fish  in  a  false  position,  apparently,  and  having  yielded  to  the 
President's  urgency  that  he  should  remain  in  the  Cabinet,  he 
could  not,  at  the  moment,  explain  fully  to  Mr.  Sumner  the 
seeming  changes  of  his  attitude.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  such 


GENERAL  GRANT  AS  A  CIVIL  CHIEF.  71 

differences  to  grow  larger,  and  in  the  following  winter  they 
led  to  an  open  rupture  between  the  old  friends." 

The  President's  campaign  to  secure  annexation  involved 
bargaining  for  the  votes  of  certain  "carpet-bag"  Senators. 
"He  was  told  that  they  desired  to  please  him  and  to  support 
his  plans,  but,  considering  Mr.  Sumner's  controlling  influ 
ence  with  their  colored  constituents,  it  would  be  at  no  small 
political  peril  to  themselves  if  they  opposed  that  Senator  on 
the  Santo  Domingo  question.  ...  In  matters  of  patronage 
.  .  .  they  found  themselves  less  influential  than  they  had  a 
right  to  expect.  Reciprocity  was  necessary  if  the  President 
required  their  aid.  When  asked  in  what  departments  they 
found  a  lack  of  consideration,  the  Attorney-General's  was 
named,  and  it  was  strongly  urged  that  Judge  Hoar  should 
be  displaced  by  a  Southern  man  acceptable  to  them."  At 
torney-General  Hoar  was  nominated  to  the  Supreme  Court 
presumably  to  answer  this  Southern  demand.  The  Senate 
refused  to  confirm  his  appointment,  and  Mr.  Hoar  had  to  be 
gotten  rid  of  in  some  other  way.  One  morning  in  June, 
1870,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  President  containing  the 
"naked  statement  that  he  found  himself  under  the  necessity 
of  asking  for  Hoar's  resignation.  ~No  explanation  of  any 
kind  was  given  or  reason  assigned."  In  an  interview,  subse 
quently,  the  President  was  frank  enough  to  connect  this  ac 
tion  with  "the  necessity,  to  carry  out  his  purposes,  of  securing 
support  in  the  Senate  from  Southern  Republicans,  who  de 
manded  that  the  Cabinet  place  should  be  filled  from  the 
South."  Amos  T.  Akerman,  of  Georgia,  was  immediately 
nominated  and  soon  confirmed.  The  final  vote  on  the  treaty 
was  taken  June  30th.  A  considerable  majority  of  the  Sena 
tors  favored  it,  but  not  quite  the  necessary  two-thirds. 

The  treaty  having  been  refused  ratification  the  matter 
died  out  of  mind ;  but  an  irreparable  rift  between  Grant  and 
Sumner  resulted.  Shortly  after  Sumner's  speech,  above  re 
ferred  to,  Grant  asked  Fred.  Douglass,  who,  friendly  to  Sum 
ner,  yet  agreed  with  Grant :  "What  do  you  think  of  Sumner 
now  ?"  "I  believe  that  Sumner  thought  himself  doing  a  ser- 


72  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

vice  to  a  down-trodden  people,  but  that  he  was  mistaken," 
Douglass  replied.  This  answer  not  seeming  to  please  the 
President,  Douglass  asked  what  he  thought  of  Sunnier.  After 
some  hesitation  Grant  replied,  with  feeling:  "I  think  he  is 
mad."  President  Grant  considered  the  failure  of  the  treaty 
a  national  misfortune,  but  submitted  with  patience,  not  only 
to  the  adverse  action  of  the  Senate,  but  to  the  suspicions  of 
friends  and  to  the  attacks  of  enemies  which  his  Santo  Do 
mingo  ambition  had  aroused. 

The  annexationists  had  their  revenge  when  Sumner  lost 
the  chairmanship  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Foreign  Rela 
tions,  which  he  had  held  so  long  and  prized  so  highly.  John 
Lothrop  Motley's  recall  from  the  British  mission  was  also 
referred  by  nearly  all  to  Senator  Simmer's  course  in  the 
Santo  Domingo  matter.  The  Saturday  Club,  of  Boston,  pro 
tested  against  thus  allowing  the  President's  disagreement 
with  Sumner  to  prejudice  Minister  Motley  by  reason  of  their 
friendship,  considering  such  treatment  certain  "to  offend  all 
the  educated  men  of  ISTew  England."  Grant's  only  reply  was : 
"I  made  up  my  mind  to  remove  Mr.  Motley  before  there  was 
any  quarrel  with  Mr.  Sumner."  In  his  annual  message  the 
next  December,  the  President  proposed  a  commission  to  visit 
Santo  Domingo  for  additional  information  about  the  island 
and  to  inquire  into  the  charges  of  corruption  which  had  been 
made  against  the  Executive  and  his  agent.  With  his  usual 
intemperance,  Sumner  opposed  this  as  committing  Congress 
to  "a  dance  of  blood" ;  yet  a  bill  to  create  the  commission 
passed  the  Senate  unanimously,  the  House  by  a  majority  of 
123  to  63.  The  commissioners  were  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe, 
President  Andrew  D.  White,  and  Hon.  A.  A.  Burton.  Their 
report  was  favorable,  making  it  credible  that  the  President 
might  have  secured  annexation  had  he  attempted  it  in  a  less 
autocratic  way. 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  73 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN. 

The  Rise  of  Horace  Greeley  —  The  "Tribune"  —  Greeley  and  Grant 
—  The  Liberal  Republican  Movement  —  'The  Spoils  System  — 
Shepherd  at  Washington  —  Scandals  Connected  with  the  Collec 
tion  of  the  Revenues  —  Reversal  of  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  —  Grant 
and  Greeley  Nominated  —  Mixed  Politics  —  Both  Candidates  Se 
verely  Criticised  —  A  Choice  of  Evils  —  A  Bitter  Campaign  — 
Difficulties  Confronting  Greeley  —  Grant  Elected  —  Greeley's 
Death  —  His  Character  —  Continuation  of  Republican  Policy  at 
the  South  —  Force  and  Anarchy  in  Louisiana. 


hot  day  in  August,  1831,  an  ungainly  journeyman 
printer  from  Erie,  Pa.,  was  among  the  "arrivals"  in  K~ew 
York  City.  It  was  Horace  Greeley,  born  twenty  years  be 
fore,  on  a  farm  in  Amherst,  X.  H.  From  childhood  an  in 
satiable  reader,  at  ten  he  had  become  the  prodigy  of  his  native 
town.  His  stump-grubbing  on  a  farm  in  Vermont,  whither 
poverty  drove  his  father's  family,  his  service  as  printer's 
devil  there,  and  later  as  job  and  newspaper  printer  at  Erie, 
paid  little.  The  young  man  reached  the  metropolis  with  only 
ten  dollars  in  his  pocket,  while  the  rest  of  his  earthly  goods 
formed  a  bundle  which  he  swung  in  his  hand.  After  long 
and  vain  search  for  work  lie  at  last  secured  a  situation  so 
hard  that  no  other  printer  would  take  it.  In  it  he  wrought 
twelve  or  fourteen  hours  a  day,  at  a  rate  never  exceeding 
six  dollars  a  week. 

After  various  vicissitudes  in  job-printing  and  desultory 
editorial  work,  where  he  evinced  genius  and  zeal,  but  no  spe 
cial  aptitude  for  business,  Mr.  Greeley,  in  1841,  started  the 
"Tribune."  For  this  venture  he  had  borrowed  $1,000.  The 
first  week's  losses  engulfed  nearly  half  this  sum,  but  at  the 
end  of  a  year  the  paper  was  an  assured  success.  It  soon  be 
came  the  mouthpiece  of  all  the  more  sober  anti-slavery  senti- 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.—  4. 


74  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ment  of  the  time,  whether  within  or  without  the  Whig  party, 
and  rose  to  power  with  the  mighty  tide  of  free-soil  enthusiasm 
that  swept  over  the  land  after  1850.  Greeley  and  his  organ 
were  the  chief  founders  of  the  Republican  party,  and  the  most 
effective  molders  of  its  policy.  The  influence  of  the  paper 
before  and  during  the  war  was  incalculable,  far  exceeding 
that  of  any  other  sheet  in  America.  Hardly  a  Whig  or  a 
Republican  voter  in  all  the  North  that  did  not  take  or  read 
it.  It  gave  tone  to  the  minor  organs  of  its  party,  and  no 
politician  on  either  side  acted  upon  slavery  without  consider 
ing  what  the  "Tribune"  would  say. 

While  hating  slavery  and  treason,  and  hence  not  averse 
to  the  war,  Greeley  was  anxious  for  peace  at  the  earliest  mo 
ment  when  it  could  be  safely  had ;  and  forthwith  upon  the  col 
lapse  of  the  Confederacy  he  dismissed  all  rancor  toward  the 
South.  At  Jefferson  Davis's  presentment  for  treason  he 
stepped  forward  as  bondsman ;  and  in  the  long  friction  which 
followed  he  persistently  opposed  all  harshness  in  dealing  with 
the  conquered.  He  disliked  Grant  as  the  exponent  of  severe 
methods  in  reconstruction,  and,  like  Sumner,  peculiarly 
abominated  his  policy  of  annexing  Santo  Domingo. 

At  length  Grant  and  Greeley  became,  in  effect,  foes.  They 
had  many  party  friends  in  common,  who  sought  by  every 
means  to  reconcile  them,  but  in  vain.  Greeley  was  once  in 
duced  to  call  at  the  White  House.  Grant  invited  him  to  a 
drive,  and  he  accepted.  The  horses  went,  the  President 
smoked,  and  Greeley  kept  silence,  all  with  a  vengeance.  Only 
monosyllables  were  uttered  as  the  two  stiff  men  rode  side  by 
side,  and  each  was  glad  when  they  could  alight  and  separate. 

In  January,  1872,  the  Liberal  Republicans  of  Missouri 
issued  a  call  for  a  national  convention  at  Cincinnati.  Greeley 
and  his  "Tribune"  took  sides  with  the  revolt.  Soon  they  were 
the  life  of  it.  Henceforth  the  opposition  to  the  Administra 
tion  increased  in  strength  day  by  day.  The  Cincinnati  "Com 
mercial"  and  the  Springfield,  Mass.,  "Republican"  sided  with 
the  "Tribune,"  while  the  New  York  "Times"  and  "Harper's 
Weekly"  earnestly  advocated  Grant's  re-election.  Sumner 


THE  GREELEY   CAMPAIGN.  75 

had  long  since  broken  with  Grant.  Many  other  prominent 
Republicans  in  Congress  and  outside  had  lost  confidence  in 
the  Administration,  and  then  become  hostile  thereto.  Gen 
eral  Banks  was  one  of  these,  Stanley  Matthews  another, 
George  W.  Julian  another.  Senator  Schurz  openly  stated 
that  if  Grant  should  be  nominated  for  a  second  term  he 
would  bolt  the  ticket.  Early  in  the  second  session  of  the 
Forty-second  Congress  there  was  question  of  appointing  a 
committee  on  Investigation  and  Retrenchment.  Debating 
this,  Senator  Trumbull  vigorously  denounced  the  prevalent 
abuses  in  the  civil  service. 

The  spoils  system  had  been  permitted  to  invade  every 
branch  of  the  Government.  The  odium  heaped  upon  carpet 
bag  rule  at  the  South  was  all  along  due  in  large  measure  to 
its  corruption.  By  their  influence  and  example  many  white 
Federal  office-holders  misled  the  negro  officers,  State  and  na 
tional,  and  the  voters  as  well,  to  regard  office  as  the  legitimate 
prey  of  the  party  triumphant  on  election  day.  At  the  North, 
no  less,  appointments  in  answer  to  political  wire-pulling  were 
the  regular  order  of  the  time.  "Work !"  said  an  office-holder 
in  1870;  "I  worked  to  got  here!  You  don't  expect  me  to 
work  now  I  am  here  !" 

Federal  offices  were  needlessly  multiplied.  Tn  March, 
1871,  a  custom-house  appraiser  was  appointed  at  Evansville, 
Ind.  He  informed  "his  Senator"  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  that  his  office  was  a  sinecure,  writing  "his  other 
Senator"  soon  after  that  it  ought  to  be  abolished.  He  was 
removed  and  a  more  contented  incumbent  appointed.  "Yet," 
says  the  ex-appraiser,  "there  could  be  no  charge  of  neglect  or 
incompetency,  for  no  officer  was  ever  more  faithful  and  dili 
gent  in  drawing  his  salary  than  I  was  during  those  two  years, 
and  absolutely  there  was  nothing  else  to  do."  In  connection 
with  offices  where  there  were  far  weightier  functions  than 
drawing  salaries,  extravagance,  carelessness,  and  corruption 
were  exposed  with  damning  iteration. 

In  1871  the  District  of  Columbia  had  been  given  a  ter 
ritorial  government,  with  a  Governor,  a  Board  of  Public 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Works,  and  a  Legislature.  The  new  territory  lived  too  fast 
to  live  long,  letting  out  contracts  at  exorbitant  rates,  so  that 
they  were  bought  up  and  sublet,  sometimes  again  and  again. 
It  entered  upon  ambitious  schemes  of  city  improvement, 
which  involved  the  District  in  a  debt  far  beyond  the  lawful 
limit  of  $10,000,000.  These  and  other  evidences  of  wasteful 
administration  led  Congress,  in  1874,  to  abolish  the  terri 
torial  system  and  again  assume  direct  control  of  the  District. 
Lapse  of  time  disposed  Washingtonians  kindly  to  remember 
Shepherd,  the  head  of  the  territorial  government  during 
the  great  transformation,  and  later  not  a  few  wished  his 
statue  to  appear  in  the  city  which  had  been  rendered  so 
beautiful  and  commodious  through  his  agency. 

More  notorious  than  the  "Washington  Ring"  were  the 
scandals  connected  with  the  collection  of  the  revenues. 
Early  in  April,  1874,  a  meeting  was  held  in  New  York  to 
protest  against  the  revenue  and  "moiety"  laws;  "moiety" 
meaning  that  the  law  gave  to  a  spy,  with  certain  officials, 
one-half  of  the  property  forfeited  to  the  Government  by 
fraud  discovered  through  such  person's  agency.  Under 
these  laws  there  were  repeated  instances  of  technical  for 
feitures  and  condemnation  on  the  ground  of  constructive 
fraud,  owing  to  some  slight  accidental  mistake.  The  laws 
were  often  confused  and  self-contradictory,  placing  honest 
officials  in  danger  of  committing  flagrant  wrongs  by  the 
effort  to  execute  their  terms.  A.  T.  Stewart  is  said  to  have 
been  at  one  time  liable  to  a  forfeiture  of  $3,000,000  for  an 
error  of  $300. 

An  informer  intimated  to  a  revenue  official  that  an  im 
porter  had  defrauded  the  Government,  paying  insufficient 
duty  upon  his  goods.  The  official  then  obtained  a  secret 
warrant  to  seize  the  importer's  books  and  papers,  which  was 
done.  The  contingent  rewards  accompanying  this  business 
were  so  enormous  that  every  kind  of  intrigue,  deceit,  and 
subornation  was  practiced.  Informers  were  charged  with 
downright  blackmail,  for  which  the  power  to  seize  private 
books  and  papers  gave  them  exceptional  opportunity.  They 


THE   GREELEY   CAMPAIGN.  77 

sought  to  stigmatize  the  entire  mercantile  class  in  the  im 
porting  cities.  The  terror  in  which  the  house  of  Phelps, 
Dodge  &  Co.  was  long  kept  by  thei  lurking  agents  of  the 
Government  would  be  incredible  to  most  of  our  citizens  now. 
The  system  would  not  have  surprised  people  in  Naples,  but  it 
was  revolting  to  Americans.  "Every  clerk  might  become  an 
informer.  The  Government  stealthily  put  its  hand  into  every 
counting-room,  as  the  Church  through  its  agents  surrepti 
tiously  knew  every  secret  of  the  household."  ^7'icious  as  it 
was,  not  until  after  long  agitation  was  a  law  passed  putting 
an  end  to  the  moiety  abuse  with  its  lucrative  espionage  and 
other  iniquities. 

The  President  and  his  Administration  were  unduly 
blamed  by  many  eminent  citizens  of  all  parties  for  the  re 
versal  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold 
decision  touching  the  constitutionality  of  the  greenback. 
In  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  "the  majority  of  the  Court  as  then 
constituted — five  Judges  out  of  eight — felt  obliged  to  con 
clude  that  an  act  making  mere  promises  to  pay  dollars  a 
legal  tender  in  payment  of  debts  previously  contracted  is 
not  a  means  appropriate,  plainly  adapted,  or  really  calcu 
lated  to  carry  into  effect  any  express  power  vested  in  Con 
gress,  is  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and 
is  prohibited  by  the  Constitution."  Said  Mr.  Justice  Field : 
"That  judgment  was  reached  only  after  repeated  arguments 
were  heard  from  able  and  eminent  counsel,  and  after  every 
point  raised  on  either  side  had  been  the  subject  of  extended 
deliberation.  ...  It  is  not  extravagant  to  say  that  no 
case  has  ever 'been  decided  by  this  Court  since  its  organiza 
tion  in  which  the  questions  presented  were  more  maturely 
considered.  It  was  hoped  that  a  judgment  thus  reached 
would  not  be  lightly  disturbed." 

The  President,  Judge  Hoar  his  Attorney-General,  and  a 
great  many  other  prominent  Republicans  were  opposed  to 
the  principles  of  the  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  decision.  This 
fact,  together  with  the  speedy  overturn  of  the  decision  by 
an  enlarged  Court,  made  it  appear  as  if  the  composition  of 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  Court  had  been  changed  on  purpose  to  secure  a  different 
utterance  upon  this  vital  question  of  Constitutional  law. 
Within  a  few  weeks  after  the  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  deci 
sion,  during  the  same  term,  so  soon  as  its  vacancies  were 
filled,  the  Court,  on  motion  of  Attorney-General  Hoar,  voted 
to  hear  the  question  reargued. 

"By  act  of  March  3,  1863,  the  Court  was  ordered  to 
consist  of  ten  members,  a  new  member  being  then  added. 
By  act  of  July  23,  1866,  'to  fix  the  number  of  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States/  etc.,  it  was  enacted 
'that  no  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Associate  Justice  should  be 
filled  by  appointment  until  the  number  of  Associates  should 
be  reduced  to  six,  and  thereafter  the  Supreme  Court  should 
consist  of  a  Chief  Justice  and  six  Associate  Justices.'    By  an 
act  of  10th  April,  1869,  to  take  effect  from  the  first  Monday 
of  December,  1869,  it  was  enacted  'that  the  Court  should 
consist  of  a  Chief  Justice  and  eight  Associates,  and  that,  for 
the  purpose  of  this  act,  there  should  be  appointed  an  addi 
tional  Judge.'    Hepburn  vs.  Griswold,  it  is  stated  in  the  opin 
ion  of  the   Court   in  the  case,  was  decided  in  conference 
November  27,  1869  (8  Wallace,  626),  there  being  then  eight 
Judges  (the  Chief  Justice  and  seven  Associates)  on  the  bench, 
the  lowest  number  to  which  the  Court  had  been  reduced. 
One  of  them,   Justice   Grier,  resigned  February  1,   1870. 
The  judgment  in  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  was  announced  from 
the  bench  and  entered  February  7,  1870.    Mr.  Justice  Strong 
was  appointed  February  18,  1870,  and  Mr.  Justice  Bradley 
March  21,  1870,  and  the  order  for  the  present  [new]  argu 
ment  was  made  by,  and  the  argument  itself  heard  before,  the 
Court  of  nine,  as  constituted  by  the  act  of  10th  April,  1869. m 
Both  of  the  new  Justices,  Strong  and  Bradley,  voted  for  the 
reversal.     Judgment  was  rendered  in  December,  1870,  when 
the  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  decision  was  set  aside  by  a  ma 
jority  of  one.     The  new  dictum  of  the  Court  was  later  quite 
generally  accepted  as  not  forced  law,  as  in  real  accord  with 
the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  deeply  and  broadly  viewed. 

*  8  Wallace,  528,  note. 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  79 

We  shall  recur  to  the  subject  again  in  Chapter  X.,  there 
arguing  that  the  Court's  conclusion  was  sound;  but  at  the 
time  not  a  few  classed  it  with  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  as  a 
partisan  and  most  dangerous  attack  upon  our  fundamental 
law.  Said  an  eminent  writer :  "When  public  opinion  has 
reached  the  point  of  tolerating  such  proceedings,  paper  con 
stitutions  may  well  be  consigned  to  oblivion  before  they  fall 
into  contempt." 

In  spite  of  all  these  grounds  for  criticism,  partly  solid 
and  partly  fanciful,  so  evidently  did  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
party  wish  Grant  to  continue  in  the  White  House  that  his 
adversaries  saw  no  hope  of  capturing  the  Republican  conven 
tion.  Most  of  them,  therefore,  allied  themselves  with  the 
Liberals.  The  Democrats  maintained  a  policy  of  "passivity," 
but  long  before  their  convention  there  were  hints  that  they 
would  accept  the  bolting  Republican  candidates  as  their  own, 
should  these  not  be  too  radically  opposed  to  Democratic  ideas. 
With  such  aid  the  separatists  expected  to  carry  the  country. 

The  convention  of  Come-outers  assembled  at  Cincinnati 
on  May  1st,  and  effected  a  permanent  organization  with  Carl 
Schurz  as  chairman.  Touching  the  South,  the  platform 
declared  for  general  amnesty,  local  self-government,  and  the 
abolition  of  all  military  authority  as  superseding  civil  law. 
The  suspension  of  habeas  corpus  it  especially  condemned.  It 
denounced  corruption  in  the  civil  service,  and  declared  against 
a  second  term  in  the  Presidency.  It  demanded  a  tariff  which 
should  not  unnecessarily  interfere  with  industry,  advocated 
a  speedy  return  to  specie  payments,  and  ended  with  a  eulogy 
on  the  Union  soldiers.  Mr.  Greeley  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency  on  the  sixth  ballot.  B.  Gratz  Brown,  Governor 
of  Missouri,  received  the  nomination  for  Vice-President. 

Grant's  friends  were  not  frightened.  They  pretended, 
rather,  to  regard  the  nomination  as  a  huge  joke.  All  con 
ceded  that  Greeley  was  an  honest  man,  yet  he  did  not  inspire 
confidence.  He  had  a  reputation  for  doing  strange,  com 
promising  things.  John  Sherman  thought  him  "probably 
the  most  unfit  man  for  President,  except  Train,  that  had  ever 


80  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

been  mentioned/7  Many  of  the  Liberals  themselves  did 
not  fancy  him.  He  was  an  ultra  protectionist,  while  Schurz 
and  other  prominent  anti- Administration  Republicans  leaned 
toward  a  revenue  tariff.  Greeley  was  understood  to  intend, 
in  case  of  his  election,  to  hold  his  tariff  ideas  in  abeyance  in 
deference  to  the  preferences  of  his  free-trader  and  low- 
tariff  supporters.  This  understanding  did  not  conduce  to 
men's  respect  for  him.  Sumner  was  for  radical  measures  in 
the  South,  which  most  of  the  Liberals  deprecated.  It  was 
Sumne»r  who,  in  the  Forty-second  and  Forty-third  Con 
gresses,  so  earnestly  sought  to  pass  the  Supplementary  Civil 
Rights  Bill,  with  the  aim  of  securing  for  the  Southern  negro 
social  as  well  as  political  equality  with  the  white  man.  It 
imposed  heavy  penalties  on  hotel-keepers,  theatre  and  rail 
way  managers  and  others  for  conducting  their  businesses  so 
as  in  any  way  to  discriminate  against  the  blacks.  This  bill 
readily  passed  the  Senate  whenever  moved,  but  always  failed 
in  the  House  until  March  1,  1875,  when,  a  year  after  Stun 
ner's  death,  it  went  upon  the  statute  book — to  be,  by  a 
Supreme  Court  decision,  October  3,  1883,  declared  uncon 
stitutional  and  void.1  Little  as  they  agreed  with  one  an 
other,  however,  the  majority  of  the  seceders,  wishing  "any 
body  to  beat  Grant,"  accepted  Greeley  with  no  small 
heartiness. 

The  Republican  Convention  met  at  Philadelphia  on  June 
5th.  The  platform  declared  for  civil  service  reform  and 
complete  equality  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  civil,  political,  and 
public  rights  throughout  the  Union,  and  uttered  a  somewhat 
ambiguous  statement  in  regard  to  the  relations  of  capital 
and  labor.  It  upheld  the  President  in  his  Southern  policy, 
though  maintaining  that  State  governments  should  be  per 
mitted  to  function  in  the  fullest  degree  practicable.  The 
latest  amnesty  bill  of  Congress  it  approved,  and  it  eulogized 
the  President  in  the  highest  terms.  The  Convention  exhib 
ited  no  opposition  to  Grant,  and  he  was  renominated  by  ac- 

*  109  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  Reports,  3. 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  81 

clamation.  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  was  given  the 
second  place  on  the  ticket,  defeating  Colfax,  who  had  in 
curred  the  enmity  of  several  men  influential  in  the  party. 

Between  the  nomination  of  Grant  and  the  Democratic 
Convention  at  Baltimore,  over  a  month  later,  public  atten 
tion  was  centred  upon  the  attitude  of  the  Democratic  leaders 
to  the  candidacy  of  Greeley  and  Brown.  That  these  nom 
inees  were  not  wholly  acceptable  to  the  Democracy  there 
could  be  no  doubt.  Many  of  the  party  chiefs  spoke  of  Gree 
ley  with  open  derision.  Yet,  as  it  was  evident  that  if  the 
Liberal  candidates  did  not  receive  Democratic  indorsement 
all  efforts  against  Grant  would  prove  unavailing,  the  majority 
of  the  party  was  for  Greeley  at  all  hazards.  Said  ex-Gover 
nor  Vance,  of  North  Carolina:  "If  'Old  Grimes'  is  in  the 
Democratic  hymn-book,  we'll  sing  him  through  if  it  kills 
us."  Accordingly,  the  Convention,  which  assembled  at  Bal 
timore  July  9th,  notwithstanding  considerable  opposition, 
accepted  the  Cincinnati  candidates  and  platform,  adjourning 
in  some  hope  of  victory.  A  few  dissatisfied  Democrats  met 
at  Louisville  on  September  3d  and  nominated  Charles 
O'Conor  for  President  and  John  Quincy  Adams  for  Vice- 
President.  Both  gentlemen  declined,  but  the  nominations 
were  left  unchanged. 

Greeley  accepted  the  Baltimore  nomination  in  a  letter 
dated  July  18th.  In  this  he  insisted  on  the  "full  enfran 
chisement"  of  all  the  white  population  at  the  South,  and 
declared  that  henceforth  Democracy  and  Republicanism 
would  stand  for  one  and  the  same  idea,  "equal  rights,  regard 
less  of  creed  or  clime  or  color."  The  entire  effective  force 
of  the  Democracy,  South  as  well  as  North,  rallied  to  the 
Greeley  standard,  joined,  strangely,  by  Republicans  and 
Abolitionists  like  Trumbull,  of  Illinois,  Julian,  of  Indiana, 
Blair,  of  Michigan,  Sedgwick,  of  New  York,  and  Bird,  of 
Massachusetts.  General  W.  T.  Sherman  wrote  from  Paris 
to  his  brother,  the  Senator :  "Of  course  I  have  watched  the 
progress  of  political  events  from  this  standpoint,  and  feel 
amazed  to  see  the  turn  things  have  taken.  Grant,  who 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

never  was  a  Republican,  is  your  candidate;  and  Greeley, 
who  never  was  a  Democrat,  but  quite  the  reverse,  is  the 
Democratic  candidate."  The  Senator  replied:  "As  you  say, 
the  Republicans  are  running  a  Democrat,  and  the  Democrats 
a  Republican.  'And  there  is  not  an  essential  difference  in 
the  platform  of  principle.  The  chief  interest  I  feel  in  the 
canvass  is  the  preservation  of  the  Republican  party,  which 
I  think  essential  to  secure  the  fair  enforcement  of  the  re 
sults  of  the  war.  General  Grant  has  so  managed  things  as  to 
gain  the  very  bitter  and  active  hostility  of  many  of  the 
leading  Republicans,  and  the  personal  indifference  of  most 
of  the  residue.  He  will,  however,  be  fairly  supported  by  the 
great  mass  of  the  Republicans,  and  I  still  hope  and  believe 
will  be  elected.  The  defections  among  Republicans  will  be 
made  up  by  Democrats  who  will  not  vote  for  Greeley." 

On  June  30th  George  William  Curtis  wrote :  "The  best 
sentiment  of  the  opposition  is  that  both  parties  must  be 
destroyed  and  Greeley's  election  is  the  way  to  destroy  them. 
This  is  Schurz's  ground,  who  likes  Greeley  as  little  as  any  of 
us.  The  argument  seems  to  be,  first  chaos  then  cosmos. 
The  Nation'  and  the  'Evening  Post7  in  this  dilemma  take 
Grant  as  the  least  of  evils.  He  has  been  foully  slandered, 
and  Sumner's  speech  [of  May  31st — see  page  85]  was  un 
pardonable.  He  was  bitterly  indignant  at  me — said  that  my 
course  was  unspeakable  and  inconsistent,  and  that  I  was 
bringing  unspeakable  woe  upon  my  country.  I  could  only 
reply,  'Sumner,  you  must  learn  that  other  men  are  as  honest 
as  you.' ' 

Much  could  be  truly  said  in  Greeley's  favor.  An  editor 
opposed  to  his  election  declared  "that  he  was  a  man  of 
unimpeachable  private  life,  just,  charitable,  generous;  that 
like  many  of  our  greatest  statesmen  he  had  raised  himself 
by  his  own  unaided  exertions  to  a  place  of  great  power  and 
distinction ;  that  though  he  had  been  all  his  life  a  politician 
he  had  never  basely  sought  office  and  had  never  held  office 
save  once,  and  then  very  briefly;  that  with  all  his  errors  his 
influence  had  always  been  used  in  favor  of  every  true  re- 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  83 

form  as  well  as  many  that  merely  promised  well ;  and  that  he 
was  a  thorough  believer  in  American  ideas  and  things." 

Among  Grant's  critics  the  cooler  argued  about  as  fol 
lows  :  The  war  issues,  they  said,  should  be  treated  as  settled ; 
in  its  prosperity  the  party  had  become  careless;  the  President 
was  surrounded  by  unwise  counselors  and  influenced  by  un 
scrupulous  men;  under  him  the  civil  service  had  been  de 
bauched  as  never  before,  even  in  Jackson's  time;  if  he 
should  be  re-elected  things  could  not  but  go  from  bad  to 
worse.  Putting  the  very  best  possible  construction  upon 
his  motives,  they  declared,  it  was  obvious  that  Grant  was 
dividing  the  party,  and  therefore  should  no  longer  continue 
its  official  head.  Some  of  the  President's  antagonists  did  not 
hesitate  even  to  impugn  his  honesty.  His  advocacy  of  re 
form  in  the  civil  service  they  denominated  "thin  twaddle." 
He  was  charged  with  incorrigible  nepotism.  The  fact  that 
he  had  been  given  a  house  was  deemed  suspicious.  The  ut 
most  was  made  of  his  incessant  smoking  and  of  his  love  for 
fast  horses. 

"It  is  not  a  great  draft  upon  the  public  purse,"  said 
one,  "nor  a  creation  of  a  dangerous  family  influence,  when 
the  President  appoints  a  dozen  or  more  of  his  relatives  to 
office;  but  it  is  a  bad  example,  and  shows  a  low  view  of  the 
Presidential  office.  But  far  worse  than  this  was  the  scandal 
of  the  President's  brother-in-law  at  the  capital  following  the 
profession  of  agent  for  claims  against  the  Government, 
carrying  his  family  influence  into  the  subordinate  Executive 
departments  where  such  claims  are  judged,  and  actually — • 
as  he  testified  before  a  Congressional  Committee — appealing 
cases  from  the  departments  to  the  President  and  appearing 
before  him  to  argue  them.  In  effect  this  was  the  sale  of 
the  President's  influence  against  the  ends  of  justice  by  his 
brother-in-law."  This  criticism  was  made  by  an  able  writer 
who,  after  all,  preferred  Grant  to  Greeley. 

The  President's  thick  and  thin  supporters  pleaded  that 
under  his  Administration  the  public  debt  had  been  decreased, 
taxes  lowered,  the  utmost  honesty  and  economy  introduced  in 


84:  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

public  affairs,  industry  revived,  and  confidence  restored. 
They  alleged  that  the  cause  of  the  Cincinnati  Convention 
was  nothing  but  selfish  discontent.  The  meeting,  they  said, 
had  been  controlled  by  scheming  politicians  and  place-hunt 
ers,  who  knew  that  under  Greeley  they  could  have  what 
they  wished.  If  Grant  was  incompetent,  it  was  asked,  what 
would  be  the  state  of  affairs  should  Greeley,  who  had  hardly 
ever  in  his  life  held  an  office,  and  never  an  administrative 
office,  be  elected! 

A  very  large  class  of  Eepublicans  admitted  as  true  most 
that  was  put  forth  in  criticism  of  the  Administration,  yet 
wished  Grant  elected.  "Of  Grant,"  said  one  of  these  Re 
publicans,  "we  have  some  reason  to  think  that  we  know  the 
worst.  It  appears  that  he  favors  civil  service  reform  at 
least  as  much  as  Mr.  Greeley  does.  His  relations  are  now, 
we  believe,  all  comfortably  provided  for;  gratified  citizens 
have  showered  upon  him  as  many  gifts  as  he  will  probably 
care  to  receive. "  "Pitiful  as  it  is  to  be  compelled  to  choose 
one  of  two  evidently  unfit  persons  for  the  highest  office  in 
the  nation,  our  preference  would  be  for  General  Grant.  .  .  . 
Though  of  proved  incapacity  in  civil  government,  he  is  still 
believed  to  be  honest,  cautious,  and  steady,  with  a  reserve 
of  intellectual  power  and  moral  purpose  which,  in  any  com 
ing  crisis  of  our  affairs,  might  be  an  invaluable  aid  to  the 
country."  This  writer  did  not  doubt  that  Grant  was  "stolid, 
barren  of  ideas,  and  below  the  intellectual  level  of  Jackson, 
Taylor,  and  Harrison,"  admitted  that  vast  numbers  of  Re 
publicans  would  vote  for  him  merely  as  a  choice  of  evils, 
and  declared  that  his  re-election  could  not  be  taken  for 
an  unqualified  approval  of  his  administration.  "Grant," 
he  said,  "conspicuously  fails"  in  obvious  desire  for  the  peo 
ple's  good;  "his  presence  inspires  no  enthusiasm;  his  pulse 
does  not  beat  with  the  popular  heart;  he  has  the  coldness 
of  Washington  without  his  lofty  self-devotion." 

As  the  conflict  deepened  feeling  waxed  painfully  bitter 
and  the  meanest  personal  allusions  were  common.  Greeley's 
supporters  dubbed  their  candidate  "Honest  Old  Horace"; 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  85 

the  opposition,  remembering  his  bail  to  Jefferson  Davis,  whom 
most  abolitionists  wished  hanged,  called  him  ''Old  Bail- 
Bonds."  "Grant  beat  Davis,"  they  said,  "Greeley  bailed 
him."  He  was  named  "Horrors  Greeley,"  and  his  homely 
manners  were  made  the  subject  of  innumerable  jests. 
"Greeley" — so  ran  one  relatively  sober  estimate — "Greeley, 
with  his  immense  experience  and  acuteness,  and  philanthropic 
philosophy  of  life,  is  still  unsteady,  grotesque,  obstinate,  and 
ridiculous — epithets  never  yet  justly  applicable,  all  at  once,  to 
a  President  of  the  United  States."  Cartoons,  which  played  a 
great  figure  in  this  campaign,  vastly  exaggerated  his  corpu 
lency.  On  the  unfortunate  B.  Gratz  Brown  the  stalwarts 
heaped  the  worst  disgrace  which  a  political  candidate  can  re 
ceive,  that  of  being  ignored.  His  views  and  his  record  were 
never  mentioned;  only  his  bare  name  came  before  the  public. 
In  every  cartoon  by  Nast  where  Greeley  was  represented,  a 
tag  bearing  the  legend  "and  Gratz  Brown,"  hung  from  his 
coat-tail.  Carl  Schurz  and  "Whitelaw  Keid,  both  fighting 
Greeleyites,  were  pictured  with  classical  and  pedantic  fea 
tures,  eye-glasses  big  as  tea-cups,  and  legs  ten  feet  long. 

Such  coarseness  was  not  confined  to  the  supporters  of  the 
Administration.  The  Greeley  press  made  Grant  call  to  his 
intimates  to  bid  him  good-by,  as  he  sang : 

"My  friends  are  gone  to  Chappaqua, 
Oh,  put  me  in  my  little  bed." 

Chappaqua  was  Greeley's  country  residence.  Greeley  was 
dubbed  "Old  Whitey"  for  his  coat  and  hat,  his  most  unique 
habiliments,  and  the  following  doggerel  was  concocted,  equally 
unique  in  its  good  humor: 

"Press  where  ye  see  my  White  Hat  gleam  amid  the  ranks  of  war, 
And  be  your  oriflamme  this  day  the  Coat  of  Chappaqua." 

On  May  31st  Sumner  delivered  a  speech  in  which  he  ap 
plied  to  the  President  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of 
Lord  Durham  to  Henry  Brougham:  "Among  the  foremost 
purposes  ought  to  be  the  downfall  of  this  odious,  insulting, 
degrading,  aide-de-campish?  incapable  dictatorship.  At  such 


86  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

a  crisis  is  this  country  to  be  left  at  the  mercy  of  barrack  coun 
cils  and  messroom  politics  ?" 

If  the  disclosures  and  falsehoods  about  the  Credit  Mobi- 
lier,  of  which  we  shall  give  an  account  in  the  next  chapter, 
hurt  the  party  in  power,  the  revelations  already  made  and  still 
coming  out  concerning  the  Tweed  Eing  told  against  Greeley's 
cause.  Tweed  was  of  Tammany,  and  Tammany,  now  in  the 
worst  repute  it  had  ever  borne,  threw  to  the  breeze  the  Greeley 
flag.  The  question  of  Female  Suffrage  also  plagued  Mr. 
Greeley.  The  National  Women's  Suffrage  Association  met 
in  New  York  May  9,  1872,  and  adopted  resolutions  strongly 
condemning  him  for  his  position  in  regard  to  their  movement 
asseverating  the  right  of  women  to  vote  under  the  Fourteenth 
and  Fifteenth  Amendments  to  the  Constitution. 

Nor  was  this  all.  As  an  uncompromising  opponent  of 
the  Democracy,  Greeley  had  during  his  editorial  career 
wielded  a  terribly  caustic  pen.  This  fact  much  aggravated 
his  new  position.  A  cut  in  "Harper's  Weekly"  represented 
him  in  the  act  of  eating  uncomfortably  hot  soup  from  a  dish 
bearing  the  inscription,  "My  own  words  and  deeds."  Gree 
ley  had  said  that  the  Democratic  party  would  be  better  off  if 
there  were  not  a  schoolhouse  in  the  country,  and  he  had  al 
ways  represented  that  only  people  of  the  lowest  sort  natu 
rally  found  their  way  to  its  ranks.  Now,  as  "standard-bearer 
of  the  great  Liberal  movement,"  he  had  accepted  the  nomina 
tion  of  that  very  party.  Against  Greeley  the  arch-abolitionist, 
every  fire-eater  paper  at  the  South  had  for  twenty-five  years 
been  discharging  its  most  venomous  spleen.  Once,  before  the 
war,  a  Northern  sheet  characterized  the  representative  plan 
tation  lord  as  sighing: 

"Oh  for  a  nigger  and  oh  for  a  whip, 
Oh  for  a  cocktail  and  oh  for  a  nip, 
Oh  for  a  shot  at  Old  Greeley  and  Beecher, 
Oh  for  a  whack  at  a  Yankee  school-teacher; 
And  so  he  kept  ohing  for  what  he  had  not, 
Not  contented  with  owing  for  all  he  had  got." 

Now  the  quondam  plantation  lord  was  invited  to  the  polls  to 
vote  for  the  "Old  Greeley"  aforesaid. 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  87 

Numerous  and  weighty  as  were  Grant's  faults  and  Gree- 
ley's  virtues,  events  or  sentiments  proved  too  strong  for  the 
bolting  movement.  Many  for  a  time  deluded  themselves  with 
the  hope  of  its  triumph,  but  as  election  day  approached  it  be 
came  evident  that  Grant  would  receive  an  overwhelming  ma 
jority  in  the  electoral  college.  Most  of  those  Republicans 
who  at  first  declined  to  vote  for  Grant,  hoping  for  a  better 
man,  determined,  as  the  campaign  advanced,  to  put  up  with 
the  ills  they  had  rather  than  fly  to  the  unknown  ones  which 
they  believed  the  promotion  of  Greeley  sure  to  bring.  As 
State  after  State  declared  for  Republicanism  during 
the  late  summer  and  fall,  the  shadows  of  defeat  lengthened 
across  Greeley' s  path.  Finally  he  undertook  a  personal  can 
vass,  stumping  Xew  Hampshire  and  Maine  in  August,  Penn 
sylvania  and  Ohio  in  September.  From  this  campaign  work 
he  was  called  to  the  death-bed  of  his  wife,  over  whose  stricken 
form  he  watched  with  the  tenderest  love  and  care  until  she 
passed  away,  a  week  before  the  election.  His  defeat  at  the 
polls  was  overwhelming.  He  carried  but  six  States,  all  of 
them  Southern.  Grant's  popular  majority  approached  three- 
quarters  of  a  million.  Mr.  Greeley  was  quite  spent  in  body 
and  mind  by  the  terrible  bitterness  of  the  campaign,  by  the 
magnitude  of  his  defeat,  and  most  of  all  by  his  deep  bereave 
ment.  Before  his  wife's  death  he  had  said  to  an  intimate :  "I 
am  a  broken  old  man.  I  have  not  slept  one  hour  in  twenty- 
four  for  a  month.  If  she  lasts,  poor  soul,  another  week,  I 
shall  go  before  her."  For  six  weeks  he  did  not  enjoy  a  night 
of  natural  sleep.  Malaria  had  already  undermined  his  sys 
tem,  and  on  November  29th  he  succumbed,  ere  the  shouts  of 
the  victors  had  died  away.  At  once  all  laid  aside  thoughts 
of  triumph,  his  bitterest  enemies  hastening  to  do  honor  to  the 
memory  of  his  noble  character. 

In  the  death  of  Horace  Greeley  the  nation  lost  a  citizen 
of  sterling  worth  and  deep  patriotism.  Opinionated,  an  ideal 
ist  rather  than  a  practitioner  in  his  contention  for  right,  he 
had  been  led  into  more  than  one  quixotic  error,  laying  himself 
open  to  attacks  that  left  their  sting.  His  judgments  were 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

often  precipitate  and  unsound.  June  29,  1862,  he  wrote  to 
J.  R.  Giddings:  "We  are  going  to  ruin.  McClellan  is  cer 
tainly  a  fool,  probably  a  traitor,  and  Halleck  is  no  better.  We 
are  doomed."  But  every  one  now  forgot  the  man's  blunders 
and  remembered  only  the  purity  and  benevolence  of  his  spirit. 
'No  one  had  ever  impeached  the  honesty  of  his  motives.  It 
was  the  universal  verdict  that  he  had  been  a  man  of  great  soul 
and  lofty  devotion,  not  unworthy  the  title  bestowed  upon  him 
by  Whittier,  of  "The  Modern  Franklin." 

As  in  duty  bound,  Congress,  011  February  12,  1873, 
counted  the  electoral  vote.  When  the  State  of  Georgia  was 
reached,  Mr.  Beck,  of  Kentucky,  announced  three  of  the  votes 
of  that  State  for  Greeley.  The  House  voting  to  reject  these, 
since  the  candidate  was  dead  at  the  time  they  were  cast,  and 
the  Senate  voting  to  receive  them,  they  were  thrown  out  under 
the  Twenty-second  Joint  Rule,  then  in  force.  Upon  different 
objections,  but  under  the  same  rule,  the  votes  of  Arkansas  and 
Louisiana  were  also  rejected.  Had  Greeley  lived  he  would 
probably  have  received  sixty  electoral  votes. 

Grant  was  inaugurated  March  4,  1873.  In  his  inaugural 
address  he  declared  strongly  for  the  establishment  of  the  ne 
groes'  civil  rights.  He  maintained  that  no  Executive  control 
was  exercised  in  the  Southern  States  which  would  not  be  had 
in  others  under  similar  circumstances.  He  favored  the  exten 
sion  of  the  country's  territorial  domains,  pledging  himself  to 
the  restoration,  so  far  as  possible,  of  good  feeling,  and  to  the 
establishment  of  the  currency  on  a  solid  basis.  He  urged  the 
construction  of  cheaper  inland  routes  for  travel  and  trade,  and 
also  the  re-establishment  of  our  foreign  commerce. 

The  campaign  of  1872  naturally  sweetened  Sumner's  tem 
per  toward  the  Southern  people.  In  a  letter  to  the  colored 
voters  of  the  United  States,  dated  July  29,  1872,  he  said: 
"Pile  up  the  ashes,  extinguish  the  flame,  abolish  the  hate — 
such  is  my  desire."  In  accordance  with  this  sentiment  he  in 
troduced  in  the  Senate  a  bill  providing  that  the  names  of 
battles  against  citizens  of  the  United  States  while  in  rebellion 
should  not  be  continued  in  the  army  register  or  placed  on  the 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  89 

colors  of  regiments.  This  failed  to  pass,  but  an  act  did  pass 
which  happily  reduced  to  some  extent  the  rancor  felt  by  the 
South  against  the  ^N"orth.  It  removed  political  disabilities 
from  all  citizens  of  the  late  Confederacy,  except  Senators  and 
Representatives  in  the  Thirty-sixth  and  Thirty-seventh  Con 
gresses,  officers  in  the  judicial,  military,  and  naval  service, 
and  heads  of  departments  and  foreign  ministers  of  the  United 
States.  This  act  was  approved  May  22,  1872.  However,  the 
Republican  programme  for  governing  the  Southern  States  was 
as  yet  by  no  means  essentially  altered. 

Congressional  discussions  over  race  difficulties  were  re 
newed  with  some  bitterness  when,  in  May,  1872,  a  bill  was 
brought  before  Congress,  extending  to  all  election  precincts 
the  act  of  1871,  whereby  Federal  Supervisors  could  be  ap 
pointed  in  towns  of  over  20,000  inhabitants.  It  passed  the 
Senate  without  great  difficulty.  In.  the  House  it  was  strenu 
ously  opposed,  its  enemies  dubbing  it  "election  by  bayonet." 
It  finally  passed  the  House  also,  June  8th,  as  an  amendment 
to  an  appropriation  bill. 

During  the  second  session  of  the  Forty-second  Congress, 
there  was  more  or  less  race  trouble  in  the  South,  and  the  anti- 
Administration  forces  took  occasion  to  reflect  anew  on  the 
President's  policy  under  the  Force  Act.  On  January  25, 
1873,  the  House  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the  President 
to  inform  Congress  touching  the  condition  of  South  Carolina, 
in  which  State,  under  the  authority  of  the  act  of  April  20, 
1871,  he  had  suspended  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  The  citi 
zens  of  the  State  also  made  a  request  for  a  statement  of  the 
Government's  policy  in  prosecutions  under  that  act.  The  re 
ply  stated  that  the  Executive  was  disposed,  except  in  grave 
cases,  to  show  great  clemency  and  to  discontinue  prosecutions 
against  violators  of  the  law. 

The  election  of  November,  1870,  gave  Louisiana  to  the 
Republicans  by  a  substantial  majority,  but  almost  immedi 
ately  the  party  began  to  break  up  into  factions.  Governor 
Warmoth  was  opposed  by  leading  Federal  officers,  who  suc 
ceeded  in  gaining  control  of  the  Republican  State  Convention. 


90  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

With  the  assembling  of  the  Legislature  in  January,  1872, 
the  situation  assumed  a  grave  character.  On  the  death  of 
Lieutenant-Go vernor  Dunn,  in  November  of  the  previous  year, 
P.  B.  S.  Pinchback,  a  colored  adherent  of  Warmoth,  had 
been  elected  President  of  the  Senate,  but  the  Administration 
leaders  declared  his  election  illegal.  In  the  House,  Speaker 
Carter,  an  anti-Warmoth  man,  was  antagonized  by  War- 
moth's  friends.  After  a  bitter  struggle,  during  which  War- 
moth  and  a  number  of  his  supporters  were  arrested  by  the 
Federal  authorities,  Carter  was  deposed.  A  Congressional 
committee  investigated  the  quarrel,  but  could  not  quiet  it,  and 
the  politics  of  Louisiana  continued  in  an  inflamed  condition. 

Estrangement  soon  arose  between  Governor  Warmoth 
and  Pinchback,  Warmoth  heading  the  Liberal  Republican 
movement  in  the  State.  After  much  manoeuvring  the  Liberals 
united  with  the  Democratic  and  "Reform"  parties  in  a  fu 
sion  ticket  headed  by  John  McEnery,  with  an  electoral  ticket 
supporting  Greeley  and  Brown.  The  Pinchback  faction  united 
with  the  Grant  party,  nominating  W.  P.  Kellogg  for  Gover 
nor  and  Pinchback  for  Congressman-at-large.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  McEnery  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

The  returns  of  the  election  were  to  be  submitted  to  the 
State  Returning  Board.  At  the  time  of  the  election  the  Board 
consisted  of  Governor  Warmoth,  Lieutenant-Governor  Pinch- 
back,  Secretary  of  State  Herron,  John  Lynch,  and  T.  C.  An 
derson.  When  this  board  met,  Pinchback  and  Anderson  being 
candidates  for  office  at  this  election  whose  result  was  to  be 
determined,  were  declared  incapable  of  serving.  The  Gover 
nor  supplanted  Herron  with  a  more  trusty  friend,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  fill  the  other  two  vacancies.  In  like  manner,  Lynch 
and  Herron,  professing  to  be  the  true  board,  supplied  their 
own  lack  in  numbers.  In  December,  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  State  declared  Herron  an  intruder  into  the  office  of  Sec 
retary  of  State,  thus  demolishing  the  Lynch  and  Herron 
board,  while  Eederal  Circuit  Judge  E.  H.  Durell,  in  answer 
to  Kellogg' s  prayer,  enjoined  Warmoth's  board  from  acting. 
Meantime  a  legislative  act,  duly  passed  and  approved,  ousted 


THE  GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  91 

both  boards  and  provided  for  a  new  one.  This  being  speedily 
organized,  the  returns  were  canvassed  and  McEnery  was  de 
clared  elected  Governor  by  a  majority  of  7,000. 

Kellogg' s  prospects  now  seemed  desperate,  but  they  did 
not  prove  to  be  so.  On  the  night  of  December  5th,  "in  his 
own  chambers,  without  any  previous  motion  in  Court/'  Jus 
tice  Durell  drew  up  and  issued  to  the  United  States  Marshal, 
Packard,  the  following:  "It  is  hereby  ordered,  that  the  Mar 
shal  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of  Louisiana  shall 
forthwith  take  possession  of  the  building  known  as  the  Me 
chanics'  Institute  and  occupied  as  the  State-house,  for  the 
assembling  of  the  Legislature  therein,  in  the  city  of  ~New  Or 
leans,  and  hold  the  same  subject  to  the  further  order  of  the 
Court ;  and  meanwhile  to  prevent  all  unlawful  assemblage 
therein  under  the  guise  or  pretext  of  authority  claimed  by 
virtue  of  pretended  canvass  and  returns  made  by  said  pre 
tended  returning  officers  in  contempt  and  violation  of  said  re 
straining  order ;  but  the  Marshal  is  directed  to  allow  the  in 
gress  and  egress  to  and  from  the  public  offices  in  said  building, 
of  persons  entitled  to  the  same." 

This  mandate,  void  in  point  of  law,  was  efficient,  and 
next  morning,  obeying  the  Marshal's  order,  Captain  Jackson, 
with  United  States  soldiers,  began  a  six  weeks'  occupation  of 
the  State-house.  Collector  of  the  Port  Casey  telegraphed 
the  President:  "Marshal  Packard  took  possession  of  State- 
house  this  morning,  at  an  early  hour,  with  military  posse,  in 
obedience  to  a  mandate  of  Circuit  Court,  to  prevent  illegal 
assemblage  of  persons  under  guise  of  authority  of  Warmoth's 
returning  board,  in  violation  of  injunction  of  Circuit  Court. 
.  .  .  The  decree  was  sweeping  in  its  provisions,  and  if  en 
forced  will  save  the  Republican  majority  and  give  Louisiana 
a  Republican  Legislature  and  State  government." 

The  same  day  the  Lynch  board  met  and,  though  without 
the  returns,  elected  Kellogg  Governor  by  19,000  majority. 
They  then  proceeded  by  the  very  easy  and  summary  method 
set  forth  in  the  following  bit  of  testimony  to  create  a  Repub 
lican  Legislature  in  place  of  the  legal  body: 


92  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

By  Mr.  Carpenter.  Q.  "You  estimated  it,  then,  upon 
the  basis  of  what  you  thought  the  vote  ought  to  have  been  ?" 

By  Lynch.  A.  "Yes,  sir.  That  was  just  the  fact,  and 
I  think,  on  the  whole,  we  were  pretty  correct." 

This  Legislature  at  once  impeached  Warmoth,  thus  mak 
ing  Pinchback  Governor  for  the  unexpired  term.  The  Court 
again  aided,  enjoining  all  not  named  on  the  Lynch  list  from 
claiming  office,  and  enjoining  Warmoth  from  interfering  with 
the  organization  of  the  Lynch  Legislature. 

On  December  11,  1872,  Pinchback  telegraphed  the  At 
torney-General  at  Washington :  "May  I  suggest  that  the  com 
manding  general  be  authorized  to  furnish  troops  upon  my 
requisition  upon  him,  for  the  protection  of  the  Legislature 
and  the  gubernatorial  office '?"  Kellogg,  the  heir-apparent, 
also  telegraphed:  "If  the  President  in  some  way  indicates 
recognition,  Governor  Pinchback  and  Legislature  would  settle 
everything."  Collector  Casey  co-operated :  "The  delay  in  plac 
ing  troops  at  disposal  of  Governor  Pinchback,  in  accordance 
with  joint  resolution,  is  disheartening  our  friends  and  cheer 
ing  our  enemies.  If  requisition  of  Legislature  is  complied 
with,  all  difficulty  will  be  dissipated,  the  party  saved.  ,  .  . 
and  the  tide  will  be  turned  at  once  in  our  favor.  ..." 

Next  day,  the  12th,  Attorney-General  Williams  re 
sponded  :  "Acting-Governor  Pinchback,  New  Orleans,  Louisi 
ana  :  Let  it  be  understood  that  you  are  recognized  by  the 
President  as  the  lawful  Executive  of  Louisiana,  and  that  the 
body  assembled  at  Mechanics'  Institute  is  the  lawful  Legisla 
ture  of  the  State ;  and  it  is  suggested  that  you  make  proclama 
tion  to  that  effect,  and  also  that  all  necessary  assistance  will  be 
given  to  you  and  the  Legislature  herein  recognized  to  protect 
the  State  from  disorder  and  violence." 

In  answer  to  a  telegram  from  McEnery,  begging  for 
delay  till  a  committee  of  citizens  could  lay  the  facts  before  the 
Executive,  came  the  following:  "lion.  John  McEnery.  Your 
visit  with  a  hundred  citizens  will  be  unavailing,  so  far  as  the 
President  is  concerned.  His  decision  is  made  and  will  not  be 
changed,  and  the  sooner  it  is  acquiesced  in  the  sooner  good 


THE   GREELEY  CAMPAIGN.  93 

order  and  peace  will  be  restored.  Geo.  H.  Williams,  Attor 
ney-General."  Finally  this:  "Washington,  December  14, 
1872.  General  W.  H.  Emory,  U.  S.  A.,  Commanding,  New 
Orleans,  Louisiana.  You  may  use  all  necessary  force  to  pre 
serve  the  peace,  and  will  recognize  the  authority  of  Governor 
Pinchback.  By  order  of  the  President:  E.  D.  Townsend, 
Ad  j  utant-Gener  al. ' ' 

On  January  7,  1873,  the  day  appointed  for  the  assem 
bling  of  the  Legislature,  both  the  opposing  bodies  began 
operations  "inter  arma."  A  week  later  both  Kellogg  and 
McEnery  took  the  oath  of  office.  President  Grant  supported 
the  Pinchback  claimants  with  Federal  troops.  The  House 
of  Representatives  instructed  its  Committee  on  Privileges  and 
Elections  to  inquire  into  the  dispute.  A  report  was  made 
February  20,  1873,  which  condemned  Federal  interference. 
The  committee  found  that  McEnery  was  de  jure  entitled  to 
the  Governorship,  but  that  Kellogg,  supported  by  the  army, 
was  de  facto  Governor.  The  committee  recommended  the  pas 
sage  of  an  act  "to  secure  an  honest  re-election"  in  Louisiana. 
The  recommendation  was  not  adopted  and  anarchy,  in  effect, 
followed. 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    GENEVA   AWARD   AND   THE    CREDIT   MOBILIER. 

Outcome  of  the  Washington  Treaty  —  The  "Alabama  Claims"  — 
Vain  Efforts  at  Settlement—  The  Geneva  Tribunal  —  Rules  for 
its  Guidance  —  Questions  Answered  By  It  —  Its  Decision  —  The 
Northwestern  Boundary  Settlement  —  The  Credit  Mobilier  Story 

—  Enthusiasm  for  the  West  —  Vastness  of  that  Section—  The  Rush 
Thither  —  The    Pioneers  —  Land-Grabbing  —  Grants    for   Transcon 
tinental  Railways  —  Inception  of  the  Union  Pacific  Company  — 
The  Credit  Mobilier  Company  —  Oakes  Ames  and  his  Contract 

—  Stock    Sold   to   Congressmen—  The   "Sun's"    Publication—  The 
Facts  —  Ames's  Defence  —  Censure  of  Him  by  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  —  His  Death  —  Reasons  for  the  Sentiment  against 
Him. 


aided  President  Grant  and  his  party  in  their 
1872  campaign  more  than  the  honorable  outcome  which  the 
Treaty  of  Washington  had  in  the  Geneva  Award  and  the 
northwestern  boundary  settlement,  both  seasonably  made 
known  to  the  world  in  1872.  The  Award  related  to  the  fa 
mous  Alabama  Claims,  and  meant  that  these,  or  the  most 
important  of  them,  must  be  paid  us  by  Great  Britain.  Chief 
credit  for  such  happy  result  was  due  to  Hon.  Hamilton  Fish, 
Grant's  Secretary  of  State,  yet,  naturally  and  justly,  the  Ad 
ministration  as  a  whole  profited  by  his  triumphant  diplo 
macy. 

The  claims  usually  denominated  "Alabama  Claims"  were 
partly  Jiational  or,  less  accurately,  "indirect,"  and  partly  indi 
vidual  or  direct.  The  national  claims  were  for  destruction  of 
United  States  commerce  or  its  transfer  to  other  flags  occa 
sioned  by  Confederate  privateers  fitted  out  wholly  or  partly  in 
Great  Britain,  and  for  enhanced  marine  insurance  and  in 
creased  cost  of  the  war  in  life  and  treasure  due  to  the  same 
cause.  The  individual  or  direct  claims  were  for  damages 
through  certain  specific  acts  of  depredation  by  Confederate 


THE  GENEVA  AWARD.  95 

war  vessels,  notably  the  Alabama,  the  Florida,  and  the  Slien- 
andoah. 

In  spite  of  repeated  warnings  from  Hon.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  then  United  States  Minister  to  Great  Britain,  the 
Queen's  Government  had  suffered  the  Florida,  originally 
called  the  Oreto,  and  ostensibly  destined  for  Palermo,  Sicily, 
to  be  built  at  Liverpool  in  1862,  and  to  receive,  at  Green  Bay, 
near  Nassau,  arms  and  munitions  from  another  vessel.  The 
Florida  was  indeed  seized,  but  soon  released.  Adams's  sus 
picions  were  shortly  directed  against  another  vessel  building 
at  Liverpool,  called  "the  290,"  from  the  number  of  merchants 
who  contributed  to  her  construction,  but  later  and  better 
known  as  the  Alabama.  His  suspicions  were  confirmed  by^ 
evidence  which  distinguished  British  counsel  declared  "al 
most  conclusive/'  sufficient  to  impose  a  "heavy  responsibility" 
upon  the  collector  of  customs  "if  he  failed  to  detain  her." 
Easily  dodging  the  half-hearted  reach  that  was  made  for  her, 
"the  290"  went  forth  upon  her  career  of  devastation,  continu 
ing  it  until  she  was  sunk  by  the  Kearsarge.  The  Shenandoali 
cleared  from  Liverpool  as  a  merchant  vessel,  the  Sea  King, 
and  when,  in  November,  1865,  she  took  in  supplies  and 
enlisted  men  at  Melbourne,  English  liability  for  her  acts 
became  definitely  fixed.  Claims  of  a  less  conclusive  nature 
were  made  on  account  of  the  acts  of  ten  other  Confederate 
privateers. 

Mr.  Adams  left  England  in  1868  without  having  obtained 
any  satisfaction  of  these  claims.  His  successor,  Hon.  Reverdy 
Johnson,  was  upon  his  arrival  in  London  much  dined  and 
wined.  He  made  effusive  speeches,  judging  from  which  one 
would  think  that  in  his  view  Great  Britain  could  do  no  wrong. 
Secretary  Seward,  too,  had  a  warm  regard  for  England,  and 
was  moreover  anxious  to  settle  the  difficulty  before  leaving 
office.  But  the  Johnson-Clarendon  Treaty,  the  offspring  of 
this  cordial  policy,  was,  in  the  spring  of  1869,  unceremoni 
ously  drummed  out  of  the  Senate  to  the  music  of  Charles 
Simmer's  famous  speech,  which,  as  one  paper  put  it,  "set  al 
most  all  Americans  to  swinging  their  hats  for  eight  or  nine 


96  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

days,  and  made  every  Englishman  double  up  his  fists  and 
curse  every  time  he  thought  of  it  for  several  weeks." 

That  treaty  contained  not  a  word  of  regret  for  England's 
unfriendly  posture  during  the  war,  or  the  slightest  confession 
of  fault.  It  ignored  the  national  claims  of  the  United  States, 
while  its  language  with  regard  to  British  citizens'  claims 
against  the  United  States,  whatever  was  intended  by  it,  was 
so  catholic  that  when  the  text  of  the  treaty  became  known  Con 
federate  bonds  in  England  rose  from  their  tomb  with  ten  per 
cent  of  their  original  vitality  about  them. 

On  becoming  President,  Grant  recalled  Johnson  and  sent 
to  succeed  him  John  Lothrop  Motley,  a  firm  friend  of  Sum- 
ner's,  sharing  Sumner's  extreme  views  upon  the  British  ques 
tion.  But  the  policy  of  the  new  Administration  was  not  so 
radical  as  Sumner's.  It  laid  little  stress  upon  the  recognition 
of  belligerency  as  a  ground  for  damage,  and  left  Great  Britain 
to  take  the  initiative  in  coming  to  an  understanding.  Like 
Sumner,  Mr.  Motley  wished  to  insist  upon  damages  for  Eng 
land's  premature  recognition  of  the  Confederates  as  belliger 
ents.  He,  too,  was  soon  removed. 

At  the  instance  of  England,  a  joint  High  Commission 
was  speedily  appointed  to  sit  in  Washington.  The  Treaty  of 
Washington,  drawn  up  by  this  Commission  and  proclaimed 
on  July  4,  1871,  provided  for  an  adjustment  of  all  outstand 
ing  differences  between  the  countries  touching  the  fisheries, 
the  northwestern  boundary,  and  the  claims  of  citizens  of  either 
Government  against  the  other  for  acts  committed  during  the 
Civil  War.  The  Treaty  further  provided  "for  the  reciprocal 
free  navigation  of  certain  rivers,  including  the  St.  Lawrence, 
for  the  common  use  of  certain  Canadian  and  American  canals, 
and  for  reciprocal  free  transit  across  the  territories  of  the 
United  States  or  Canada;  these  provisions  to  be  enforced  by 
appropriate  legislation,  to  be  binding  for  ten  years,  and  termi 
nable  thereafter  on  two  years'  notice."  In  all  its  articles  to 
gether  the  Treaty  engaged  the  co-operation  of  no  fewer  than 
eight  sovereign  States.  The  Alabama  Claims  it  referred  to  a 
Tribunal  of  Arbitration,  consisting  of  one  arbitrator  from 


THE  GENEVA  AWARD.  97 

each  of  the  high  contracting  parties  and  one  each  appointed 
by  the  executives  of  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Brazil.  Count 
Sclopis  was  the  Italian  arbitrator,  Mr.  Jacques  Staempfli  the 
Swiss,  and  Baron  Itajuba  the  Brazilian.  The  tribunal  met 
at  Geneva,  December  15,  1871,  but,  as  we  have  observed,  did 
not  render  its  decision  until  the  succeeding  year. 

The  Treaty  of  Washington  had  laid  down  for  the  guidance 
of  the  tribunal  three  rules,  which  form  such  an  important  con 
tribution  to  international  law  that  they  deserve  quotation  in 
full: 

"A  neutral  Government  is  bound, 

"First:  To  use  due  diligence  to  prevent  the  fitting  out, 
arming,  or  equipping,  within  its  jurisdiction,  of  any  vessel 
which  it  has  reasonable  ground  to  believe  is  intended  to  cruise 
or  to  carry  on  war  against  a  power  with  which  it  is  at  peace ; 
and  also  to  use  like  diligence  to  prevent  the  departure  from  its 
jurisdiction  of  any  vessel  intended  to  cruise  or  carry  on  war 
as  above,  such  vessel  having  been  specially  adapted,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  within  such  jurisdiction,  to  warlike  use. 

"Secondly:  Not  to  permit  or  suffer  either  belligerent  to 
make  use  of  its  ports  or  waters  as  the  base  of  naval  operations 
against  the  other,  or  for  the  purpose  of  the  renewal  or  aug 
mentation  of  military  supplies  or  arms,  or  the  recruitment  of 
men. 

"Thirdly :  To  exercise  due  diligence  in  its  own  ports  and 
waters,  and,  as  to  all  persons  within  its  jurisdiction,  to  pre 
vent  any  violation  of  the  foregoing  obligations  and  duties." 

In  the  text  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington  Great  Britain 
denied  that  these  rules  were  a  true  statement  of  the  principles 
of  international  law  as  that  law  stood  during  the  American 
Civil  War,  but  consented  that  the  Alabama  Claims  should  be 
decided  in  accordance  with  them  notwithstanding.  Both 
countries  agreed  to  abide  by  these  principles  in  future,  and  to 
invite  other  maritime  powers  to  do  the  same. 

Question  being  raised  as  to  the  interpretation  of  certain 
terms  and  the  scope  of  certain  provisions  in  the  three  rules,  the 
tribunal  made  the  following  preliminary  decisions: 
U.  S.     VOL.  8.— 5. 


98  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

1.  The  meaning  of  "due  diligence."     The  tribunal  took 
the  ground  that  what  constitutes  "due  diligence7'  varies  with 
the  circumstances  of  the  case.     The  greater  the  probable  dam 
age  to  either  belligerent,  the  greater  must  be  the  care  taken 
by  the  neutral  Government  to  prevent  the  escape  of  cruisers 
from  its  ports. 

2.  Should  a  neutral  detain  an  escaped  cruiser  when  it  re- 
enters  the  neutral's  jurisdiction,  the  cruiser  having  in  the 
meantime  been  regularly  commissioned  by  its  Government  ? 
The  arbitrators  decided  that  the  neutral  had  a  right  to  detain 
such  a  cruiser,  in  spite  of  its  commission,  but  was  under  no 
positive  obligation  to  do  so. 

3.  Does  a  neutral's  responsibility  end  with  the  enforce 
ment  of  its  local  laws  to  prevent  the  escape  of  cruisers,  even  if 
those  laws  are  inadequate  ?    Decision  was  given  that  the  case 
must  be  determined  by  international  law  and  not  by  national 
legislation.     If  a  country's  regulations  for  carrying  out  its 
acknowledged  international  duties  are  ineffective,  they  ought 
to  be  changed. 

Though  these  decisions  touching  the  law  of  nations  were 
of  world-wide  significance,  the  verdict  on  the  facts  in  the  case 
had  a  more  immediate  interest  for  the  American  people.  In 
direct  claims  the  tribunal  dismissed,  and  it  made  no  award  for 
the  expense  of  pursuing  Confederate  cruisers,  or  for  any  pro 
spective  earnings  which  ships  lost  through  them.  But,  for 
Great  Britain's  negligence  in  failing  to  prevent  the  equip 
ment,  arming,  and  provisioning  of  the  Confederate  privateers, 
the  gross  sum  of  $15,500,000  was  awarded  the  United  States. 
Sir  Alexander  Cockburn,  the  English  "arbitrator,"  was  the 
only  one  to  take  this  decree  with  ill  grace.  On  the  announce 
ment  of  it  he  seized  his  hat  and  left  the  room  without  so  much 
as  an  adieu,  getting  "leave  to  print"  with  the  record  of  the 
proceedings  a  choleric  document  known  as  his  "Opinions." 

The  dispute  as  to  our  northwestern  boundary  was  also 
decided  in  our  favor  during  1872.  By  a  treaty  of  1846  the 
boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  British  America 
was  run  westward  along  the  49th  parallel  "to  the  middle  of 


THE   CREDIT  MOBILIER.  99 

the  channel  which  separates  the  continent  from  Vancouver's 
Island,  thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  the  said  chan 
nel  and  of  Fuca's  Strait,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean."  Should 
"the  middle"  referred  to  be  interpreted  as  passing  through 
the  Strait  of  Rosario,  on  the  side  next  Washington  Territory, 
or  through  the  Canal  de  Haro,  on  the  Vancouver  side  of  the 
archipelago  there  ?  Should  those  islands  be  looped  into  the 
territory  of  Uncle  Sam,  or  given  to  John  Bull  ?  This  ques 
tion  the  Treaty  of  Washington  referred  to  Emperor  William 
I,  of  Germany. 

The  historian  Bancroft,  the  only  surviving  statesman  save 
one  concerned  in  negotiating  the  1846  treaty,  argued  our 
claims  in  this  matter,  and  on  October  21,  1872,  had  the  satis 
faction  of  seeing  his  plea  crowned  by  a  favorable  decision. 
"The  award/'  said  President  Grant,  "leaves  us  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  as  a  nation,  without  a 
question  of  disputed  boundary  between  our  territory  and  the 
possessions  of  Great  Britain."  It  was  a  proud  result  for  the 
President,  and  assisted  not  a  little  in  his  re-election. 

While  the  consequences  of  the  memorable  Treaty  of  Wash 
ington  were  favorable  to  the  party  in  power,  another  revela 
tion  of  the  campaign  had  much  influence  in  the  opposite 
direction.  In  August,  18Y2,  when  the  excitement  of  the 
Presidential  strife  was  already  high,  the  iSTew  York  "Sun" 
published  a  story  which  added  fresh  fuel  to  the  political  fires 
already  raging,  and  promised  to  generate  much  steam  to  pro 
pel  the  Greeley  movement.  It  related  to  the  Credit  Mobilier 
operations  in  constructing  the  Union  Pacific  Railway.  If 
true,  the  facts  said  to  exist  involved  in  corruption  the  Speaker 
of  the  House,  the  Vice-President,  the  Republican  nominee 
for  the  Vice-Presidency,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
others  high  in  political  life. 

Enthusiasm  for  the  Great  West  kindled  again  after  the 
war  and  became  a  mania.  The  climate  and  soil  of  the  region 
had  been  persistently  misrepresented  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  by  Great  Britain,  its  successor  in  title,  by  influen 
tial  Southerners  jealous  of  the  !N~orth,  and  by  numerous  ex- 


100  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ploring  parties.  The  "Great  American  Desert"  was  a  dragon 
of  which  numberless  horrors  were  related.  So  early  as  1850 
it  had  been  outflanked  by  way  of  the  Horn  and  threatened 
from  the  Pacific  Coast,  but  not  till  after  the  war,  when  South 
ern  influence  was  withdrawn,  was  it  transfixed  by  any  avenue 
of  general  travel  or  trade. 

The  United  States  west  of  the  Mississippi,  leaving  out 
Texas,  Minnesota,  and  California,  naturally  broke  up  as  fol 
lows:  (1)  The  Arkansas  District,  embracing  Arkansas,  most 
of  Indian  Territory  and  a  portion  of  Missouri.  Here  were 
bottoms  of  Egyptian  fertility  and  warmth,  subject  to  heavy 
rainfall,  in  parts  forest-covered.  Beyond  the  Ozarks  was  a 
colder  and  dryer  plateau.  (2)  The  Lower  Missouri  Valley, 
including  nearly  the  whole  State  of  Missouri,  also  western 
Iowa  and  part  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  This  was  opened  to 
settlement  earlier  than  (1)  and  was  the  sooner  populated. 
The  rainfall  and  temperature  here  were  suited  to  all  northern 
crops,  and  the  land  wras  nearly  level.  (3)  The  Upper  Mis 
souri  Valley,  practically  coinciding  with  North  and  South 
Dakota.  This  tract  was  higher,  dryer,  and  much  colder  than 
(2).  Fortunately,  where  it  was  cold,  surface  coal  was  to  be 
had  for  the  digging,  and  where  arid,  the  earth  beneath  seemed 
a  vast  subterranean  sponge,  rendering  artesian  wells  a  suc 
cessful  means  of  irrigation.  This  district  was  unwooded. 

(4)  The  Cordilleran  Plateau,  extending  from  100°  W.  long., 
westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  near  the  Cana 
dian  border  to  the  Eio  Grande.     This  vast  area  was  too  arid 
for  the  plow.    Formerly  a  buffalo  range,  it  has  become  a  great 
cattle  pasture,  and  is  apparently  destined  to  continue  such. 

(5)  The  Mountain  Eegion,  in  width  from  500  miles  at  the 
north  and  south  to  1,000  in  the  middle,  composed  of  basins 
more  or  less  extensive,   inclosed  by  sharp  and  high  ridges. 
Irrigation  made  some  farming  possible  here,  but  the  mineral 
wealth  was  immense  and  mining  became  the  main  industry. 

(6)  The  Northwestern  Country,  comprising  parts  of  Wyom 
ing,  Idaho,  Montana,  and  the  States  of  Washington  and  Ore 
gon.     Here  timber  was  plentiful  and  farming  profitable.     On 


THE   CREDIT   MOBILIER.  101 

the  Pacific  Slope  from  50  to  200  cords  of  wood  per  acre  could 
be  cut,  and  all  ordinary  crops  and  fruits  save  grapes  suc 
ceeded. 

The  settler's  way  to  this  Promised  Land  was  in  some 
measure  made  smooth  between  1860  and  1870.  Arizona, 
Colorado,  Dakota,  Idaho,  Montana,  and  Wyoming  had  been 
organized  as  Territories ;  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Nevada  had 
been  admitted  to  Statehood.  The  status  of  the  West  when 
the  rush  commenced  we  set  forth  in  Chapter  I.  Enormous 
companies  came  to  the  Red  River  Valley,  to  Colorado,  where 
raged  a  mining  furor  second  only  to  that  witnessed  by  Cali 
fornia  in  '49,  to  Utah,  and  to  the  Slope.  People  pressed 
along  all  river  courses,  especially  up  and  down  the  valley  of 
the  Columbia.  Montana  received  a  farming  quota.  Helena, 
whose  main  street  was  the  Last  Chance  Gulch,  was  destined, 
unlike  its  compeer,  Virginia  City,  to  survive  and  thrive  even 
when  the  Last  Chance  Gulch  should  become  a  reminiscence. 
From  California  and  Colorado  the  Territory  caught  the  gam 
bling  spirit.  It  was  said  that  two  Montana  mining  million 
aires  were  one  evening  contributing  red,  white,  and  blue  wafers 
to  a  goodly  pile  on  the  table  between  them,  which  in  due  time 
was  araked  in."  As  they  were  about  to  proceed  to  a  new  deal, 
an  Eastern  stranger  approached,  threw  down  a  hundred  dol 
lar  bill  and  said:  "Gentlemen,  I  would  like  to  join  you. 
There's  the  money  for  some  chips."  Whereupon  one  of  the 
players  told  "Sam,"  the  banker,  to  "take  the  gentleman's 
money  and  give  him  a  white  chip." 

Many  of  the  Western  pioneers  were  rough  fellows,  some 
of  them  desperadoes.  The  orderly  population  which  came 
later  brought  the  bad  element  under  control,  at  first  by  vigi 
lance  committees,  then  by  law  and  order  methods,  though  the 
pistol  long  had  much  to  do  in  keeping  as  well  as  in  breaking 
the  civil  peace.  Visitors  were  early  struck  with  the  very  con 
siderable  culture  of  the  people  and  by  the  many  articles  of 
comfort  and  even  luxury  in  those  Western  towns  of  a  day. 
Newspapers  were  common  from  the  first.  Asked  how  a  town 
of  a  few  thousand  could  support  four  dailies,  a  resident  re- 


lt>2'  HI&T0RY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

plied,  "Why,  stranger,  it  takes  all  those  dailies  to  support  the 
town."  "Booming77  became  a  fine  art.  "No  Other  Land/7 
said  one  sheet,  "No  Other  Clime  On  Top  of  God7s  Green 
Earth,  Where  Land  is  Free  as  Church  Bells7  Chime,  Save  the 
Land  of  Dakota  Dirt.  Here  For  a  Year  of  Honest  Toil  a 
Home  You  May  Insure,  and  From  the  Black  and  Loamy  Soil 
a  Title  in  Fee  Mature.  No  Money  Needed  Until  the  Day 
When  the  Earth  Provides ;  Until  You  Raise  a  Crop,  no  Pay : 
-What  Can  You  Ask  Besides?77 

Nevada  received  an  overflow  from  the  West — from  Cali 
fornia.  Here  and  there,  slowly  transforming  the  desert  into 
an  empire,  were  scattered  still  other  pools  and  lakes  of  hu 
manity.  Not  the  least  important  of  these  was  the  Black  Hills 
settlement.  The  rumor  of  "Gold  in  the  Black  Hills77  grew 
rife  in  1874,  and  the  soldiers  were  in  straits  to  dam  the  tide 
of  prospectors  till  a  treaty  of  cession  could  be  obtained  to  ex 
tinguish  the  Sioux  title.  "All  same  old  story,77  said  a  war 
rior.  "White  men  come,  build  chu-chu  through  reservation. 
White  men  yawpy-yawpy.  Say,  'Good  Indian,  good  Indian ; 
we  want  land.  We  give  muz-es-kow  (money),  liliota  muz-es- 
kow  (plenty  money).7  Indian  say,  'Yes.7  What  Indian  get? 
Wah-nee-chee  (nothing).  Some  day  white  man  want  move 
Indian.  White  men  yawpy-yawpy.  'Good  Indian,  good  In 
dian;  give  good  Indian  liliota  muz-es-kow.7  What  Indian 
get  ?  Wah-nee-chee.  Some  day  white  man  want  half  big 
reservation.  Lie  come  Indian.  Yawpy-yawpy :  'Good  Indian ; 
we  give  Indian  liliota  muz-es-kow.'  Indian  heap  fool.  He 
say,  'Yes.7  What  Indian  get  ?  Wah-nee-chee.  All  same  old 
story.  'Good  Indian,  good  Indian.7  Get  nothing  !77 1 

In  one  way  and  another  speculators  seized  upon  choice 
slices  of  the  public  domain.  Often  the  alternate  quarter-sec 
tions  belonging  to  a  railroad  would  be  bought  up,  and  thd 
other  quarter-sections — Government  land — secured  in  due 
time  through  "dummies77  located  for  the  purpose.  One  Mon 
tana  land  shark  gave  a  series  of  balls  and  dinners  at  a  country 


"Our  Great  West,"  by  Julian  Ralph. 


THE   CREDIT   MOBILIER.  103 

house,  inviting  a  large  number  of  ladies,  and  accompanying 
every  invitation  with  a  promise  of  a  $100  present.  At  each 
festival,  in  the  midst  of  the  whirl,  each  guest  signed  a  claim 
to  a  homesteader's  rights  in  the  adjoining  lands.  When  the 
"claims"  were  "proved  up"  each  lady  received  her  $100  and 
the  authors  of  the  scheme  got  land  enough  for  a  dukedom.  As 
many  such  marches  depended  upon  irrigation  for  their  value, 
"grabs"  for  "water-rights"  early  began.  "We  who  are  on  the 
ground,"  said  an  enterprising  Montanian,  "are  going  to  get 
whatever  there  is  lying  around.  You  don't  suppose  we  are 
going  to  let  a  parcel  of  strangers  pre-empt  the  water-rights 
so  that  we  must  pay  taxes  to  them  ?  Xo ;  we  prefer  to  let 
them  pay  the  taxes  to  us."  A  very  reasonable  preference. 

Queer  land  laws  and  railroad  bonuses  made  possible  bo 
nanza  farming  on  an  enormous  scale.  In  the  course  of  years 
farming  of  this  sort  raised  up  bands  of  nomadic  farm-hands, 
who,  beginning  at  the  South,  worked  northward  with  the  ad 
vancing  season  till  the  ripened  year  found  them  beyond  the 
Canada  border.  There  were  also  companies  of  sheep-shearing 
specialists,  who  usually  made  two  rounds  a  year,  passing  their 
winters  riotously  in  the  towns  and  cities.  The  great  cattle- 
ranges  were  traversed  by  still  other  nomads,  the  "cowboys," 
in  bands  known  as  "trails,"  traveling  about  a  day  apart,  each 
"trail"  with  its  camp  equipage  and  relay  of  broncos.  Texas 
cattle  would  be  driven  northward  to  fatten  upon  the  Mon- 
tanian  "Bad  Lands"  as  a  preparation  for  their  final  journey 
to  Chicago. 

Some  traits  in  the  foregoing  sketch  anticipate  a  little,  yet 
enough  of  it  was  true  so  early  as  the  end  of  the  war  to  assure 
a  few  that  the  West  was  to  have  an  enormous  development. 
Two  transcontinental  railways  were  planned,  one  to  cross  the 
"Great  Desert,"  the  other  to  round  its  northern  end,  both  to 
be  equipped  as  soon  as  possible  with 'branch  and  connecting 
lines.  The  more  southerly,  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific, 
had  the  advantage  of  earlier  completion  and  a  more  developed 
western  terminus ;  but  the  Northern  Pacific  could  cross  the 
Cordilleras  at  a  lower  level  and  need  traverse  no  desert.  Both 


104  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

enterprises  were  unstintedly  favored  by  grants  of  public  land.1 
This  policy  was  widely  condemned,  but  also  vigorously  de 
fended. 

In  1871  a  competent  writer  discussing  the  grant  to  the 
Northern  Pacific  declared  it  self-evident  that  as  a  result  of 
the  opening  of  this  region  the  Government  would  get  ample 
returns  for  its  liberality.  It  was  more  than  a  royal  subsidy 
by  which  it  had  secured  the  construction  of  that  great  high 
way.  It  had  given  therefor  50,000,000  acres  of  land,  an  area 
larger  than  many  kingdoms,  worth,  if  sold  at  the  average  price 
of  the  Minnesota  school  lands,  $350,000,000 ;  if  sold  like  the 
lands  of  the  Illinois  Central  Kailroad,  $550,000,000.  Mr. 
Wilson,  for  many  years  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Depart 
ment  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  comparing  this  grant 
with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  grant,  thought  it  a  small 
estimate  to  say  that  if  properly  managed  the  Northern  Pa 
cific's  land  would  build  the  entire  road  connecting  the  cities 
of  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  through  to  Puget  Sound  and  to  Port 
land,  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Columbia,  fit  out  an  entire 
fleet  of  sailing  vessels  and  steamers  for  the  China,  East  In 
dian,  and  coasting  trade,  and  leave  a  surplus  that  would  roll 
up  to  millions.  He  deemed  the  probable  value  of  the  grant 
$990,000,000,  its  possible  value  $1,320,000,000.  The  Gov 
ernment  gained  no  popularity  by  a  gift  so  vast.  At  the  Jay 
Cooke  &  Co.  failure  in  1873  a  large  part  of  these  lands  passed 
to  creditors  of  the  road,  one  of  the  circumstances  which  con 
tributed  to  make  bonanza  farming  so  marked  a  feature  in 
parts  of  the  West. 

In  July,  1862,  Congress  created  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
way  Company  to  build  a  railroad  from  the  Missouri  River  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  fixing  at  $1,000,000,000  the  amount  of  its 
stock,  loaning  it  a  vast  sum  in  Government  bonds,  endowing 
it  with  an  enormous  amount  of  land  along  the  route,  and 

JIn  all,  the  Union  Pacific  received  13,000,100  acres,  the  Central  Pa 
cific,  12,100,100;  the  Northern  Pacific,  47,000,000;  the  Kansas  Pacific, 
6,000,000;  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  42,000,000;  the  Southern  Pacific, 
9,520,000.  The  first  transcontinental  lines  also  got  subsidies  exceeding 
$60,000,000. 


THE   CREDIT  MOBILISE.  105 

allowing  it  till  1876  to  complete  the  enterprise.  The  shares 
sold  slowly,  and  it  was  soon  clear  that  unless  Congress  gave 
better  terms  the  undertaking  would  fail.  Accordingly  a  more 
liberal  act  was  passed.  Even  this  did  not  put  the  road  in  a 
way  to  completion.  Contractors,  several  of  whom  were  be 
sought  to  do  so,  hesitated  to  undertake  the  building  of  such  a 
line  or  any  part  of  it,  and  but  eleven  miles  of  the  construction 
were  accomplished  up  to  September,  1865.  Most  believed 
either  that  the  road  could  not  be  built  or  that  it  would  never 
pay. 

In  March,  1865,  the  Credit  Mobilier  of  America,  a  com 
pany  organized  by  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  in  1859  as 
the  "Pennsylvania  Fiscal  Agency,"  and  in  its  new  form  soon 
amply  equipped  with  capital,  contracted  with  the  Union  Pa 
cific  to  go  forward  with  the  construction.  Two  hundred  and 
forty-seven  miles  of  road  were  thus  built,  carrying  the  line  to 
the  one  hundredth  meridian.  Then  arose  trouble  within  the 
Credit  Mobilier  Company.  T.  C.  Durant,  President  of  this 
and  Vice-President  of  the  Union  Pacific,  wished  the  Mobilier 
to  realize  at  once  all  possible  profits  out  of  the  construction, 
while  his  opponents,  New  England  parties,  believing  that  the 
road  would  pay,  were  inclined  to  deal  honestly  with  it,  expect 
ing  their  profits  as  corporators  in  the  Mobilier  to  come  from 
the  appreciation  of  the  Union  Pacific  stock,  in  which,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  Mobilier  was  paid  for  its  work.  This  party 
sought  to  eject  Durant  from  the  Mobilier  management,  and  at 
length  did  so ;  but  his  power  in  the  railway  corporation  was 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  Mobilier  as  such  from  getting  a 
further  contract.  After  much  contention,  during  which  the 
Mobilier  was  on  the  verge  of  failing,  Durant  consented  that 
Oakes  Ames  might  take  a  contract  to  push  the  construction  of 
the  road.  Mr.  Ames  was  at  the  time  a  Mobilier  stockholder 
and  a  representative  in  Congress  from  Massachusetts. 

Ames's  contract  was  dated  August  16,  1867,  but  on  the 
15th  of  the  next  October  he  made  it  over  to  seven  trustees, 
who  took  Ames's  place  as  contractor.  They  did  all  the  things 
which  he  had  agreed  to  do,  and  were  remunerated  just  as  he 


106  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

was  to  be.  The  trustees  bound  themselves  to  pay  over  all  the 
profits  of  their  contract  to  the  Mobilier  stockholders  in  the 
proportions  in  which  these  severally  held  stock  at  the  date  of 
their  contract.  This  arrangement  was  fully  carried  out  and 
the  road  finished  under  it.  It  was  an  adroit  way  of  circum 
venting  Durant  and  enabling  the  Mobilier  to  build  the  road 
in  spite  of  him. 

During  1867  and  1868  Ames  sold  shares  of  Credit  Mo 
bilier  stock  to  many  members  of  Congress.  He  gave  away 
none,  but  in  a  number  of  cases  payment  was  considerably  sub 
sequent  to  sale.  Though  worth  much  more,  every  share  was 
sold  for  par  and  interest,  just  what  it  cost  Ames  himself. 

Colonel  H.  S.  McComb,  of  Delaware,  in  virtue  of  a  sub 
scription  that  he  said  he  had  made  for  a  friend,  claimed  of 
Ames  $25,000  in  Mobilier  stock  which  he  alleged  had  never 
been  received.  Letters  passed  back  and  forth  between  Mc- 
Comb  and  Ames,  in  one  of  which  Ames,  a  blunt,  outspoken 
man,  declared  that  he  had  placed  the  stock  with  influential 
gentlemen  (naming  several  Congressmen)  awhere  it  would  do 
the  most  good."  Press  and  public  eagerly  took  up  this  phrase. 
Soon  it  was  in  every  mouth,  all  placing  upon  it  the  worst  con 
struction  which  the  words  could  bear.  McComb  pressed  his 
suit  and  at  last  the  letters  were  published.  The  New  York 
"Sun"  of  September  4,  1872,  in  the  very  heat  of  the  Greeley 
campaign,  came  out  with  the  heading :  aThe  King  of  Frauds ; 
How  the  Credit  Mobilier  bought  its  Way  through  Congress" ; 
stating  that  Ames  had  distributed  in  bribes  thirty  thousand 
shares  of  the  stock,  worth  nine  millions  of  dollars.  The  scan 
dal  ran  through  the  country  like  wildfire,  the  allegations  being 
very  generally  believed,  as  they  probably  are  still. 

But  we  now  know  that  they  comprised  partly  gross  fabri 
cations  and  partly  gross  exaggerations.  Mr.  Ames's  motive 
was  laudable — the  completion  of  a  great  national  work,  which 
has  long  since  paid  the  country  many  times  its  cost.  He  knew 
that  the  Pacific  Railway  had  bitter  enemies  in  Congress  and 
outside,  most  of  them  not  public-spirited,  but  the  blackmailer 
servants  of  Durant,  who  stood  ready,  should  opportunity 


THE   CREDIT   MOBILIER.  107 

offer,  to  work  its  ruin.  He  wished  to  be  fortified.  His 
method  certainly  carried  him  to  the  verge  of  propriety,  and 
perhaps  beyond ;  but,  everything  considered,  the  evidence 
shows  little  ground  for  the  peculiar  execration  visited  upon 
him.  The  Poland  Committee  of  the  House,  reporting  on  Feb 
ruary  18,  1873,  declared  that  Ames  had  acted  with  uintent  to 
influence  the  votes  of  members."  In  the  sense  that  he  sought 
to  interest  men  in  the  enterprise  and  to  prevent  them  from 
sacrificing  it  through  apathy  or  spite,  this  was  probably  true. 
That  it  was  true  in  any  other  sense  is  at  least  not  proved. 

"These,  then,  are  my  offences,"  said  Ames,  in  his  defence ; 
"that  I  have  risked  reputation,  fortune,  everything,  in  an 
enterprise  of  incalculable  moment  to  the  Government,  from 
which  the  capital  of  the  world  shrank ;  that  I  have  sought  to 
strengthen  the  work  thus  rashly  undertaken  by  invoking  the 
charitable  judgment  of  the  public  upon  its  obstacles  and  em 
barrassments  ;  that  I  have  had  friends,  some  of  them  in  official 
life,  with  whom  I  have  been  willing  to  share  advantageous  op 
portunities  for  investments ;  that  I  have  kept  to  the  truth 
through  good  and  evil  report,  denying  nothing,  concealing 
nothing,  reserving  nothing.  Who  will  say  that  I  alone  am  to 
be  offered  up  a  sacrifice  to  appease  a  public  clamor  or  expiate 
the  sins  of  others  ?  Not  until  such  an  offering  is  made  will  I 
believe  it  possible.  But  if  this  body  shall  so  order  that  it  can 
best  be  purified  by  the  choice  of  a  single  victim,  I  shall  Accept 
its  mandate,  appealing  with  unfaltering  confidence  to  the 
impartial  verdict  of  history  for  that  vindication  which  it  is 
proposed  to  deny  me  here." 

The  committee  recommended  his  expulsion.  "It  was  use 
less  to  point  out  that  no  act  was  before  Congress  at  the  time 
of  the  alleged  bribery,  or  before  or  after  it,  for  which  Ames 
was  seeking  votes.  No  person  whom  he  had  bribed  or  sought 
to  bribe  was  produced.  Nor  was  any  object  he  had  attempted 
to  accomplish  suggested."  Hon.  B.  F.  Boyer,  one  of  those 
who  received  stock,  testified  : 

"I  had  no  idea  of  wrong  in  the  matter.  Nor  do  I  now 
see  how  it  concerns  the  public.  No  one  connected  with  either 


108  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  Credit  Mobilier  or  the  Union  Pacific  Kailroad  ever  di 
rectly  or  indirectly  expressed,  or  in  any  way  hinted,  that  my 
services  as  a  member  of  Congress  were  expected  in  behalf  of 
either  corporation  in  consideration  of  the  stock  I  obtained,  and 
certainly  no  such  services  were  ever  rendered.  I  was  much 
less  embarrassed  as  a  member  of  Congress  by  the  ownership  of 
Credit  Mobilier  stock  than  I  should  have  been  had  I  owned 
stock  in  a  national  bank,  or  in  an  iron-furnace,  or  a  woolen- 
mill,  or  even  been  a  holder  of  Government  bonds ;  for  there 
was  important  legislation  while  I  was  in  Congress  affecting  all 
these  interests,  but  no  legislation  whatever  concerning  the 
Credit  Mobilier.  I  can  therefore  find  nothing  in  my  conduct 
in  that  regard  to  regret.  It  was,  in  my  judgment,  both  honest 
and  honorable,  and  consistent  with  my  position  as  a  member 
of  Congress.  And,  as  the  investment  turned  out  to  be  profit 
able,  my  only  regret  is  that  it  was  no  larger  in  amount," 

The  House  proceeded  to  censure  Ames,  and  it  would 
probably  have  expelled  him  had  not  the  alleged  offence  been 
committed  under  a  previous  Congress.  Soon  after  this  cen 
sure,  which  aggravated  a  disease  already  upon  him,  Mr.  Ames 
went  home  to  die.  The  Wilson  Committee  reported  that  the 
Mobilier  had  "wronged"  the  Government,  and  drafted  a  bill, 
which  was  passed,  ordering  the  Attorney-General  to  bring  suit 
against  its  stockholders.  He  did  so,  and  pushed  it  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  but  it  lamentably  failed  at  every  step. 

These  Congressional  charges  against  Oakes  Ames  have  in 
no  wise  the  weight  which  has  been  attached  to  them.  In 
making  them,  the  House  was  actuated  by  a  popular  clamor 
against  the  Credit  Mobilier,  sedulously  worked  up  by  the 
Democratic  press  and  by  Durant.  Many  members  who  voted 
for  the  censure  at  once  apologized  to  Ames,  saying  that  they 
had  done  so  purely  for  fear  of  their  constituents.  That 
"credit  mobilier"  was  a  foreign  name  rendered  men  suspicious 
of  the  thing  named.  The  French  Credit  Mobilier,  from  which 
the  American  concern  took  its  title,  had  got  into  trouble  in 
1868  and  been  wound  up.  Such  as  knew  of  this  thought  that 
fraud  must  of  course  taint  the  Credit  Mobilier  of  America  as 


THE   CREDIT   MOBILIER,  109 

well.  Some  of  those  charged  with  having  received  Ames's  al 
leged  bribes  cleared  themselves  at  his  expense,  falsely  denying 
all  knowledge  of  the  Mobilier  and  declaring  that  they  had 
never  directly  or  indirectly  held  any  of  the  stock.  Such  eager 
ness  to  disavow  connection  with  it  deepened  people's  suspicion 
of  it.  Pressure  was  used  to  force  Ames,  who  himself  courted 
investigation,  to  support  these  denials.  It  availed  so  far  as 
to  make  him  hesitate,  telling  his  story  reluctantly  and  by 
piecemeal,  as  if  he  dreaded  the  truth.  This  of  course  had  a 
further  bad  effect.  In  these  ways  an  almost  universal  impres 
sion  came  to  prevail  that  a  fearful  crime  had  been  committed, 
involving  most  and  perhaps  all  the  leaders  of  the  Republican 
party.  Here  was  rich  chance  for  partisan  capital.  Democrats 
and  Liberals  presented  the  scandal  in  the  worst  possible  light 
and  with  telling  effect.  Could  anything  have  defeated  Grant, 
this  would  assuredly  have  done  so. 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER    V. 

"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE. 

Grant's  Re-election  and  the  South  —  Court  Decisions  Confirming 
State  Sovereignty — The  Louisiana  "Slaughter-House  Cases" — 
Osborn  vs.  Nicholson — White  vs.  Hart — Desolation  at  the  South 
after  the  War  —  Discouragement  —  Intemperance,  Ignorance — 
Slow  Revival  of  Industry — Social  and  Political  Conflict — The 
"Scalawag"  —  The  "Carpet-Bagger"  —  Good  Carpet-Baggers — 
Their  Failings — Resistance — Northern  Sympathy  With  This — 
The  Freedmen — Their  Vices — Their  Ignorance — Foolish  and  Cor 
rupt  Legislation — Extravagant  Expenditures  in  Various  States 
— In  Mississippi — In  Georgia — In  South  Carolina — Overthrow 
of  Many  Carpet- Bag  Governments — Violence  Still,  but  often 
Exaggerated. 

THE  re-election  of  President  Grant  did  not  improve  the 
state  of  feeling  at  the  South.  Bitterness  toward  the  powers 
at  Washington  and  sullen  defiance  of  them  were  still  the 
temper  of  most  Southern  whites.  This  notwithstanding  sev 
eral  facts  which  might  have  been  expected  to  produce  a  con 
trary  effect.  Certain  important  legal  decisions  of  the  time 
should  have  pleased  the  South,  confirming,  as  they  in  a  cer 
tain  way  did,  the  doctrine  of  State  Sovereignty.  One  such 
decision  was  handed  down  April  14,  1873,  in  the  celebrated  v 
Louisiana  "Slaughter-House  Cases."  These  arose  out  of  an 
act  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  Louisiana  in  1869,  creat 
ing  the  Crescent  City  Live-Stock  Landing  and  Slaughter 
House  Company,  with  the  exclusive  privilege  of  carrying  on 
the  slaughtering  business  in  "New  Orleans  and  the  adjoining 
parishes.  The  butchers  of  the  city  contested  the  act  on  the 
ground  that  it  violated  the  recent  constitutional  amendments, 
creating  an  involuntary  servitude,  abridging  the  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  denying  to 
the  plaintiffs  equal  protection  under  the  law,  and  depriving 
them  of  their  property  without  due  process.  In  its  decision, 


"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.       Ill 

from  which,  however,  Chief  Justice  Waite,  with  Associates 
Field,  Bradley,  and  Swayne,  dissented,  the  Court  held  that 
servitude  means  personal  servitude ;  that  "there  is  a  citizen 
ship  of  the  United  States  and  a  citizenship  of  the  State,  each 
distinct  from  the  other,"  that  while  the  amendment  placed 
citizens  under  Federal  protection,  it  gave  them  no  neAV  rights 
as  citizens  of  a  State,  and  finally  that  the  act  of  the  Louisiana 
Legislature  was  not  a  denial  of  equal  protection  by  the  laws 
or  a  deprivation  of  property. 

On  April  22,  1872,  the  Court  had  rendered  its  decision 
in  the  case  of  Osborn  vs.  Nicholson,  confirming  the  validity 
of  slave  contracts  entered  into  before  the  Emancipation  Proc 
lamation.  Another  important  decision  of  the  same  date  re 
lated  to  the  case  of  White  vs.  Hart.  This  arose  from  the 
attempt  of  the  plaintiff  to  recover  on  a  promissory  note  given 
for  the  purchase-money  of  a  slave,  the  defence  claiming  non 
liability  on  the  ground  that  by  the  new  Constitution  of 
Georgia  the  State  courts  were  forbidden  to  consider  the  valid 
ity  of  such  contracts.  In  its  decision  the  Court  clearly  de 
fined  the  relation  of  the  seceder  States  to  the  Union,  and 
held  that  such  a  State,  having  never  been  out  of  the  Union, 
was  never  absolved  from  the  prohibition  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  against  passing  laws  impairing  the  obli 
gation  of  contracts. 

On  March  22,  1875,  the  Supreme  Court  decided  that  cer 
tain  corporations  created  by  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  while 
in  rebellion  were  legal.  This  meant,  in  effect,  that  any  acts 
by  the  de  facto  though  unlawful  government  of  that  State, 
so  long  as  they  did  not  tend  to  aid  the  rebellion  or  to  abridge 
the  rights  of  citizens  of  the  LTnited  States,  were  valid. 

But  Southerners7  memories  were  too  sad,  their  pains  too 
keen,  their  sufferings  of  all  sorts  too  terrible,  to  be  assuaged 
merely  by  agreeable  definitions  of  points  in  constitutional 
law.  The  war  left  the  South  in  indescribable  desolation. 
Great  numbers  of  Confederates  came  home  to  find  their  farms 
sold  for  unpaid  taxes,  perhaps  mortgaged  to  ex-slaves.  The 
best  Southern  land,  after  the  war,  was  worth  but  a  trifle  of 


112  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

its  old  value.  Their  ruin  rendered  many  insane;  in  multi 
tudes  more  it  broke  down  all  energy.  The  braver  spirits — 
men  to  whom  till  now  all  toil  had  been  strange — set  to  work 
as  clerks,  depot-masters,  and  agents  of  various  business  en 
terprises.  High-born  ladies,  widowed  by  ^sTorthern  bullets, 
became  teachers  or  governesses.  In  the  comparatively  few 
cases  where  families  retained  their  estates,,  their  effort  to 
keep  up  appearances  was  pathetic.  One  by  one  domestics 
were  dismissed ;  dinner  parties  grew  rare ;  stately  coaches 
lost  their  paint  and  became  rickety ;  carriage  and  saddle- 
horses  were  worn  out  at  the  plow  and  replaced  by  mules, 
At  last  the  master  learned  to  open  his  own  gates,  the  mistress 
to  do  her  own  cooking. 

In  a  majority  of  the  Southern  cities  owners  of  real  estate 
found  it  for  years  after  hostilities  closed  a  source  of  poverty 
instead  of  profit.  In  the  heart  of  Charleston  charred  ruins 
of  huge  blocks  or  stately  churches  long  lingered  as  remind 
ers  of  the  horrid  past.  Many  mansions  were  vacant,  vainly 
flaunting  each  its  placard  "for  rent."  Most  of  the  smaller 
towns,  like  Beaufort,  threatened  permanent  decay,  their 
streets  silent  and  empty  save  for  negro  policemen  here  and 
there  in  shiny  blue  uniforms.  The  cotton  plantations  were 
at  first  largely  abandoned  owing  to  the  severe  foreign  compe 
tition  in  cotton-growing  occasioned  by  the  war.  It  was  dif 
ficult  to  get  help  on  the  plantation,  so  immersed  in  politics 
and  so  lazy  had  the  field-hands  become. 

Upon  the  whites  in  many  communities  a  kind  of  moral 
and  social  stagnation  settled  down,  an  unhealthy,  hopeless 
acquiescence  in  the  worst  that  might  come.  Politics  they 
long  regarded  with  abhorrence,  as  the  accursed  thing  that  had 
brought  on  the  war.  Whites,  as  well  as  negroes,  drank  reck 
lessly.  Few  of  any  class  cared  much  for  education.  In 
18Y4,  Alabama  had  380,000  citizens  who  could  neither  read 
nor  write,  of  whom  nearly  100,000  were  white.  Yet  the 
year  before  the  public  schools  in  that  State,  except  in  the 
larger  cities,  had  been  closed  because  the  State  could  not  pay 
the  teachers.  If,  to  the  Africans,  education  was  freer  after 


"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.       113 

the  war  than  before,  turmoil  and  poverty  left  the  young 
Southerners  of  paler  skin  little  time  or  disposition  for  school 
ing.  The  determination,  when  it  came,  of  the  Southern 
whites  to  rule,  sad  .as  were  the  atrocities  to  which  it  led,  was 
a  good  sign,  marking  the  end  of  a  lethargy  which  boded 
naught  save  ill  to  any. 

But  the  end  of  trouble  was  not  yet.  Mere  courage  would 
not  bring  prosperity  to  a  people  undergoing  a  social  and  po 
litical  upheaval  which  amounted  to  anarchy  and  promised 
indefinite  continuance.  How  angry  the  conflict  was  will 
appear  when  we  see  that  it  brought  the  "scalawag,"  the  "car 
pet-bagger,"  and  the  negro,  partly  each  by  himself  and  partly 
together,  into  radical  collision  with  all  that  was  most  solid, 
intelligent,  and  moral  in  Southern  society.  "Whatever  were 
the  designs  or  motives  of  the  authors  of  the  reconstruction 
measures,  the  work  of  carrying  them  out  was  of  necessity 
committed  to  those  who  lived  at  the  South.  It  is  a  mild 
statement  to  say  that  those  on  whom  this  responsibility  fell 
were  not  generally  well  suited  or  qualified  for  such  work. 
Sweeping  denunciations  are  seldom  just.  Those  who  took 
part  in  reconstruction  at  the  South  were  not  all,  or  nearly 
all,  'Northern  adventurers,  Southern  renegades,  and  depraved 
negroes.'  Among  all  the  classes  so  described  were  worthy 
and  able  men ;  but  the  crude  forces  with  which  they  dealt 
were  temporarily  too  strong  for  their  control  or  resistance. 
Corruption  ran  riot;  dishonesty  flourished  in  shameless  ef 
frontery;  incompetency  became  the  rule  in  public  offices." 

The  South  had  still,  as  always,  a  class  of  swaggering 
whites,  the  kind  who  earlier  said  that  "the  Yankees  would 
back  up  against  the  North  Pole  before  they  would  fight." 
Once,  previous  to  the  war,  Hon.  Tohn  C.  Breckinridge,  of 
Kentucky,  journeying  from  ISTew  Orleans  to  Washington, 
passed  through  South  Carolina.  He  subsequently  related 
his  experience.  "But  one  man,"  he  said,  "boarded  the  cars 
on  the  route  through  that  unpopulous  piny-wooded  land. 

*  Governor  Chamberlain's  "Administration  in  South  Carolina,"  Pref 
ace,  vi. 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

He  was  dressed  in  full  regimentals,  and  entered  the  smoking- 
car  with  the  mien  of  a  Cambyses  or  a  Murat.  I  joined  this 
splendid  soldier  in  the  smoking-car.  I  offered  him  a  fresh 
cigar  to  engage  him  in  conversation,  and  began  to  question 
him.  'May  I  ask/  said  I,  meekly,  'what  is  going  on  in  this 
State  ?'  Tossing  his  head  in  proud  disdain,  he  replied,  'Go 
ing  on,  suh  ?  We  won't  stand  it  no  mo',  suh !  The  Gov 
ernor  has  sent  for  his  staff  to  meet  with  him  and  consult 
about  it  in  Columbia,  suh !  I  am  one  of  his  staff,  suh ! 
We  won't  stand  it  any  longer,  suh !  No,  suh !  It  is  intol 
erable,  suh  !  No,  suh  !'  'Stand  what  ?'  I  asked,  in  surprise, 
not  unmixed  with  dread.  'What  is  going  on  ?'  He  an 
swered:  'Stand  the  encroachments  on  our  Southern  institu 
tions,  suh !  The  abolitionists  must  be  crushed,  suh !  We 
will  do  it,  suh  !  South  Carolina' is  ready,  suh  !'  "  * 

In  reconstruction  times  Southern  heroes  of  this  stamp 
turned  up  as  "scalawags."  Most  of  the  scalawags  so  hated 
after  the  war  were  the  fire-eaters,  old  slave-traders,  and  plan 
tation  overseers  whom  decent  society  had  tabooed  before  the 
war.  They  had  no  social  position  to  lose,  and  it  was  but 
natural,  their  social  superiors  being  Democrats,  that  they 
themselves  should  become  ardent  Republicans.  Negro  voters 
they  now  bought  and  sold,  or  shot,  just  as  formerly  they  had 
bought  and  sold,  or  shot,  negro  slaves.  These  same  men, 
who,  under  Republican  rule,  sought,  with  too  much  success, 
to  lead  the  blacks,  reappeared  with  the  restoration  of  the 
Democracy  in  their  original  character  as  negro-baiters,  hunt 
ing  and  killing  their  poor  victims  whenever  this  met  party 
exigencies  better  than  bribery  did.  A  few  old  Whigs,  and 
perhaps  some  others,  joined  the  Republicans  on  principle. 
In  the  heat  of  political  controversy  these  might  be  denounced 
as  scalawags,  but  they  were  of  a  different  spirit. 

Soon  after  the  reconstruction  of  his  State,  at  a  public 
meeting  in  celebration  of  the  event,  Wade  Hampton  advised 
the  blacks  to  seek  political  affiliation  with  the  best  native 
whites,  as  both  races  equally  wished  order  and  prosperity 

*  S.  S.  Cox,  "Three  Decades  of  Federal  Legislation." 


''CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.       115 

restored.  Beverly  Xash,  colored,  addressed  the  meeting, 
urging  the  same.  aHis  people/'  he  said,  "recognized  the 
Southern  white  man  as  their  'true  friend/  and  he  wished  all 
the  Confederates  re-enfranchised."  In  this  temper  colored 
men  formed  the  Union  Republican  party  of  South  Carolina, 
and  adopted  a  platform  free  from  rancor. 

Unfortunately,  such  chance  for  affiliation  was  lost. 
Causes  were  at  work  which  soon  lessened  Sambo's  respect 
for  "Old  Massa,"  and  "Old  Massa's"  for  Sambo.  Republi 
cans  from  the  Xorth  flocked  to  the  South,  whom  the  blacks, 
viewing  -them  as  representing  the  emancipation  party,  natu 
rally  welcomed  and  followed.  These  "carpet-baggers,"  as 
they  were  called,  were  made  up,  in  the  main,  of  military 
officers  still  or  formerly  in  service,  Freedmen's  Bureau 
agents,  old  Union  soldiers  who  had  bought  Southern  farms, 
and  people  who  had  settled  at  the  South  for  purposes  of 
trade. 

There  were,  no  doubt,  many  perfectly  honest  carpet-bag 
gers,  and  the  fullest  justice  should  be  done  to  such.  They 
considered  themselves  as  true  missionaries  in  partibus,  com 
missioned  by  the  great  Republican  party  to  complete  the 
regime  of  righteousness  which  the  war  and  the  emancipation 
proclamation  had  begun.  A  prominent  Democratic  politi 
cian,  describing  a  reconstruction  Governor  of  his  State, 
whom  he  had  done  his  best  to  overthrow,  said :  "I  regard 
him  as  a  thoroughly  honest  man  and  opposed  to  corruption 
and  extravagance  in  office.  I  think  his  desire  was  to  make 
a  good  Executive,  and  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  State 
in  the  interest  of  the  people,  but  the  want  of  sympathy  be 
tween  him  and  the  white  people  of  the  State,  and  his  failure 
to  appreciate  the  relations  and  prejudices  of  the  two  races, 
made  it  next  to  impossible  for  him  to  succeed." 

In  the  States  where  the  worst  evils  were  suffered  the 
really  guilty  parties  were  usually  few,  the  great  body  of 
legislators  being  innocently  inspired  by  some  loud  and  ring 
ing  watchword  like  "internal  improvements,"  or  "the  devel 
opment  of  the  State,"  to  vote  for  measures  devised  to  enrich 


116  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

cunning  sharks  and  speculators.  What  history  will  condemn 
in  connection  with  the  reconstruction  governments  is  not  so 
much  individuals  as  the  system  which  permitted  a  few  in 
dividuals  to  be  so  banefully  influential,  not  only  in  spite  of 
their  well-meaning  associates,  but  by  means  of  these.  More 
over,  carpet-bagger  character  differed  somewhat  with  local 
ity.  Perhaps  the  reconstructionists  of  Mississippi  were  the 
best.  We  have  evidence  that  the  majority  of  the  white  lead 
ers  there  were  honest,  being  moved  in  their  public  acts  by 
strong  convictions  of  right  and  justice,  which  cost  many  of 
them  their  lives. 

But  even  of  the  honest  carpet-baggers  many  were  ideal 
ists,  little  likely  to  help  reconcile  the  races,  nearly  certain 
to  be  misled  by  their  shrewd  but  unprincipled  colleagues. 
All  were  disliked  and  mistrusted  by  the  local  whites,  as  aliens, 
as  late  foes  in  arms,  as  champions  of  an  order  intolerable  to 
the  dominant  Anglo-Saxon.  The  sons  of  Dixie  had  been 
educated  to  believe  in  the  negro  as  an  inferior  being.  The 
Confederacy  had  been,  in  a  way,  based  on  this  principle. 
To  establish  a  government  so  founded  they  had  ventured 
everything  and  had  lost.  A  power  unjust  and  tyrannical, 
as  they  conceived,  had  filled  their  States  with  mourning, 
beggared  them,  freed  their  slaves,  and,  as  a  last  injury  and 
insult,  done  its  best  to  make  the  negro  their  political  equal. 
They  resisted,  some  passively,  others  actively.  The  best  of 
them  could  not  but  acquiesce  with  a  certain  joy  when  the 
younger  and  more  lawless  used  violence,  and  even  murder,  to 
remove  the  curse.  The  powerful  hand  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  sometimes  itself  perpetrating  outrages  in  effort  to 
suppress  such,  was  evaded  by  excuses  and  devices  of  all  sorts. 
When  it  was  withdrawn,  the  Southerners  announced  boldly 
that  theirs  was  a  white  man's  government,  and  that  the  ex- 
slaves  should  never  take  part  in  it. 

On  the  race  issue,  the  l^orth,  including  no  few  Republi 
cans,  and  even  carpet-baggers  themselves,  gradually  sided 
with  the  South.  Northern  Republicans,  especially  such  as 
had  traveled  in  the  South,  not  seldom  regretted  that  the  suf- 


"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.       117 

frage  had  ever  been  given  to  the  blacks.  It  is  interesting  to 
notice  that  the  idea  of  colored  men's  voting  did  not  originate 
at  the  North.  Till  1834  and  1835  free  men  of  color  voted 
in  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina.  In  some  sections  "the 
opposing  candidates,  for  the  nonce  oblivious  of  social  dis 
tinctions  and  intent  only  on  catching  votes,  hob-nobbed  with 
the  men  and  swung  corners  all  with  the  dusky  damsels  at 
election  balls.'7  In  1867,  General  Wade  Hampton,  being 
invited  by  the  colored  people  to  address  them  at  Columbia, 
S.  C.,  did  so,  advocating  a  qualified  suffrage  for  them.  After 
the  war  Mississippi  whites  voted  unanimously  for  the  Fif 
teenth  Amendment.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  North,  at 
first  only  Stevens  and  Sumner  were  for  negro  suffrage.  So 
late  as  1865  Oliver  P.  Morton  was  strenuous  against  it,1  fore 
telling  most  of  the  evils  which  the  system  actually  brought 
forth.  In  1865,  Connecticut  rejected  a  negro  suffrage  amend 
ment  by  6,272  majority;  in  1867,  Ohio,  Kansas,  and  Minne 
sota  did  the  same  by  the  respective  majorities  of  50,620, 
8,923,  and  1,298.  In  1868,  New  York '  followed  their  ex 
ample  with  a  majority  of  32,601. 

The  experiment  being  tried,  all  interests,  not  least  those 
of  the  blacks  themselves,  wore  found  to  require  that  the  su 
perior  race  should  rule.  It  seemed  strange  that  any  were 
ever  so  dull  as  to  expect  the  success  of  the  opposite  polity. 
One  perfectly  honest  carpet-bag  Governor  confessed  that, 
while  he  could  give  the  people  of  his  State  "a  pretty  tolerable 
government,"  he  could  not  possibly  give  them  one  that  would 
satisfy  "the  feelings,  sentiments,  prejudices,  or  what  not  of 
the  white  people  generally  in  that  State." 

The  good  carpet-baggers  and  the  bad  alike  somehow  ex 
erted  an  influence  which  had  the  effect  of  morbidly  inflam 
ing  the  negro's  sense  of  independence  and  of  engaging  him 
in  politics.  His  former  wrongs  were  dwelt  upon,  and  the 
ballot  held  up  as  a  providential  means  of  righting  them.  The 
nogro  was  too  apt  a  pupil,  not  in  the  higher  politics  of  prin- 


1  See  "North  American  Review,"  Vol.  123,  p.  259  et  seq. 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ciple,  but  in  the  politics  of  office  and  "swag."  In  1872,  the 
National  Colored  Republican  Convention  adopted  a  resolu 
tion  "earnestly  praying  that  the  colored  Republicans  of  States 
where  no  Federal  positions  were  given  to  colored  men  might 
no  longer  be  ignored,  but  be  stimulated  by  some  recognition 
of  Federal  patronage."  The  average  negro  expressed  his 
views  on  public  affairs  by  the  South  Carolina  catch :  "De 
bottom  rail  am  on  de  top,  and  we's  gwineter  keep  it  dar." 
"The  reformers  complain  of  taxes  being  too  high,"  said  Bev 
erly  ISTash  in  1874,  after  he  had  become  State  Senator;  "I 
tell  you  that  they  are  not  high  enough.  I  want  them  taxed 
until  they  put  those  lands  back  where  they  belong,  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  worked  for  them.  You  worked  for  them ; 
you  labored  for  them  and  were  sold  to  pay  for  them,  and  you 
ought  to  have  them." 

The  tendency  of  such  exhortation  was  most  vicious.  In 
their  days  of  serfdom  the  negroes'  besetting  sin  had  been 
thievery.  Now  that  the  opportunities  for  this  were  multi 
plied,  the  fear  of  punishment  gone,  and  many  a  carpet-bag 
ger  at  hand  to  encourage  it,  the  prevalence  of  public  and 
private  stealing  was  not  strange.  Larceny  was  nearly  uni 
versal,  burglary  painfully  common.  At  night  watch  had  to 
be  kept  over  property  with  dogs  and  guns.  It  was  part,  or 
at  least  an  effect,  of  the  carpet-bag  policy  to  aggravate  race 
jealousies  and  sectional  misunderstandings.  The  duello,  still 
good  form  all  over  the  South,  induced  disregard  of  law  and 
of  human  life.  "The  readiness  of  white  men  to  use  the  pis 
tol  kept  the  colored  people  respectful  to  some  extent,  though 
they  fearfully  avenged  any  grievances  from  whites  by  apply 
ing  the  torch  to  out-buildings,  gin-houses,  and  often  dwell 
ings.  To  white  children  they  were  at  times  extremely  inso 
lent  and  threatening.  White  ladies  had  to  be  very  prudent 
with  their  tongues,  for  colored  domestics  gave  back  word  for 
word,  and  even  followed  up  words  with  blows  if  reprimanded 
too  cuttingly.  It  was,  also,  after  emancipation,  notoriously 
unsafe  for  white  ladies  to  venture  from  home  without  an 
escort,  ...  If  a  white  man  shot  a  colored  man,  an  excited 


"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.       119 

mob  of  blacks  would  try  to  lynch  him.  His  friends  rallied 
to  the  rescue,  and  a  riot  often  resulted.  The  conditions  were 
reversed  if  a  white  man  was  shot  by  a  negro."  i^egro  militia 
at  the  Governors'  beck  and  call  alarmed  the  whites.  White 
companies  formed  and  offered  themselves  for  service,  swear 
ing  to  keep  the  peace,  but  were  made  to  disband.  To  the 
Union  and  Loyal  Leagues  on  the  reconstructionists'  side 
answered  the  Ku-Klux  Klan,  already  described,  on  the 
other. 

Colored  men  were  quite  too  unintelligent  to  make  laws 
or  even  to  elect  those  who  were  able  to.  At  one  time  dozens 
of  engrossed  bills  were  passed  back  and  forth  between  the 
two  Houses  of  the  Alabama  Legislature  that  errors  in  them 
might  be  corrected.  According  to  contemporary  reports,  the 
Lower  Llouse  expelled  one  of  its  clerks  for  bad  orthography 
and  appointed  a  specialist  to  rectify  the  errors.  Upon  ex 
posure  of  clerical  mistakes  the  Upper  House  could  not  fix 
the  blame,  some  Senators  being  unable  to  write  three  lines 
correctly,  others  wholly  ignorant  even  of  reading.  One 
easily  imagines  how  intolerable  the  doings  of  such  public 
servants  must  have  been. 

The  colored  legislators  of  South  Carolina  furnished  the 
State  House  with  gorgeous  clocks  at  $480  each,  mirrors  at 
$750,  and  chandeliers  at  $650.  Their  own  apartments  were 
a  barbaric  display  of  gewgaws,  carpets,  and  upholstery. 
The  minority  of  a  Congressional  committee  recited  that 
"these  ebony  statesmen"  purchased  a  lot  of  imported  china 
cuspidors  at  $8  apiece,  while  Senators  and  Representa 
tives  "at  the  glorious  capital  of  the  nation"  had  to  be 
"content  with  a  plain  earthenware  article  of  domestic 
manufacture." 

Of  the  Palmetto  State  Solons  in  1873  an  eye-witness 
wrote:  "They  are  as  quick  as  lightning  at  points  of  order, 
and  they  certainly  make  incessant  and  extraordinary  use  of 
their  knowledge.  ~No  one  is  allowed  to  talk  five  minutes 
without  interruption,  and  one  interruption  is  the  signal  for 
another  and  another,  until  the  original  speaker  is  smothered 


12U  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

under  an  avalanche  of  them.  Forty  questions  of  privilege 
will  be  raised  in  a  day.  At  times  nothing  goes  on  but  alter 
nating  questions  of  order  and  of  privilega  The  inefficient 
colored  friend  who  sits  in  the  Speaker's  chair  can  not  sup 
press  this  extraordinary  element  in  the  debate.  Some  of  the 
blackest  members  exhibit  a  pertinacity  in  raising  these  points 
of  order  and  questions  of  privilege  that  few  white  men  can 
equal.  Their  struggles  to  get  the  floor,  their  bellowings  and 
physical  contortions,,  baffle  description.  The  Speaker's  ham 
mer  plays  a  perpetual  tattoo,  all  to  no  purpose.  The  talking 
and  interruptions  from  all  quarters  go  on  with  the  utmost 
license.  Every  one  esteems  himself  as  good  as  his  neighbor 
and  puts  in  his  oar,  apparently  as  often  for  love  of  riot  and 
confusion  as  for  anything  else." 

Around  the  State  House,  during  the  session  of  a  Legis 
lature  in  which  were  colored  representatives,  a  dense  crowd 
of  open-mouthed  negroes  would  stand,  rain  or  shine,  and 
stare  at  the  walls  from  hour  to  hour,  day  after  day.  In  one 
State  election  in  South  Carolina,  Judge  Carpenter,  an  old 
South  Carolinian  and  a  Republican,  ran  in  opposition  to  the 
carpet-bag  candidate.  Against  him  it  was  charged  that  if 
he  were  elected  he  would  re-enslave  the  blacks,  or  that,  fail 
ing  in  this,  he  would  not  allow  their  wives  and  daughters  to 
wear  hoop-skirts.  Another  judge  was  threatened  with  im 
peachment  and  summoned  before  the  Legislature  above  de 
scribed,  because  he  had  amade  improper  reflections  on  a  col 
ored  woman  of  doubtful  character." 

There  were  said  to  be  in  South  Carolina  alone,  in  No 
vember,  1874,  two  hundred  negro  trial  justices  who  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  also  negro  school  commissioners 
equally  ignorant,  receiving  a  thousand  a  year  each,  while 
negro  juries,  deciding  delicate  points  of  legal  evidence,  set 
tled  questions  involving  lives  and  property.  Property,  which 
had  to  bear  the  burden  of  taxation,  had  no  voice,  for  the  col 
ored  man  had  no  property.  Taxes  were  levied  ruinously, 
and  money  was  appropriated  with  a  lavish  hand. 

The  public  debt  of  Alabama  was  increased  between  1868 


"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.      121 

and  1874  from  $8,356,083.51  to  $25,503,593.30,  including 
straight  and  indorsed  railroad  bonds.1  A  large  part  of  this 
went  for  illegitimate  expenses  of  the  Legislature ;  much  more 
was  in  the  form  of  help  to  railroads;  much  went  into  the 
hands  of  legislators  and  officials;  little  was  returned  to  the 
people  in  any  form.  In  1860,  the  expenses  of  the  Florida 
Legislature  were  $17,000;  in  1869,  they  were  $67,000.2 
Bonds  to  the  amount  of  $4,000,000,  which  this  State  issued 
to  subsidize  railroads,  were  marketed  with  difficulty.  For 
some  the  best  terms  obtainable  were  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.3 
In  less  than  four  months  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina 
authorized  the  issue  of  more  than  $25,000,000  in  bonds, 
principally  for  railroads,  $14,000,000  being  issued  and  sold 
at  from  nine  to  forty-five  cents  on  the  dollar.  The  counties 
began  to  exploit  their  credit  in  the  same  way,  and  some  of 
the  wealthier  had  their  scrip  hawked  about  at  ten  cents  on 
the  dollar.4  In  1871,  the  Louisiana  Legislature  made  an 
over-issue  of  State  warrants  to  the  extent  of  $200,000,  some 
of  which  were  sold  at  two  and  a  half  cents  on  the  dollar  and 
funded  at  par.5  In  1873,  the  tax  levy  in  'New  Orleans  was 
three  per  cent.  Four  and  a  half  years  of  Republican  rule 
cost  Louisiana  106  millions,  to  say  nothing  of  privileges  and 
franchises  given  away.6  Clark  County,  Arkansas,  was  left 
with  a  debt  of  $300,000  and  $500  worth  of  improvements.7 
Chicot  County  spent  $400,000,  with  nothing  in  return ;  and 
Pulaski  County,  including  Little  Rock,  nearly  a  million. 
Town,  county,  and  school  scrip  was  worth  ten  to  thirty  cents 
on  the  dollar,  and  State  scrip,  with  five  per  cent  interest, 
brought  only  twenty-five  cents.  The  bonded  debt  of  Ten- 

1  Hilary  A.  Herbert,  "Why  the  Solid  South,"  p.  62. 

2  Samuel  Pasco,  "Why  the  Solid  South,"  p.  150. 
s  Ibid. 

4  S.  B.  Weeks,  "Political  Science  Quarterly,"  Vol.  IX,  p.  686  et  seq. 
Cf.  "Why  the  Solid  South,"  pp.  80,  82.  Mr.  Weeks  vouches  for  the 
truth  of  all  the  above  statements  relating  to  North  Carolina. 

5B.  J.  Sage,  "Why  the  Solid  South,"' p.  403. 

6  Ibid.,  406. 

7  W.  M.  Fishback,  "Why  the  Solid  South,"  p.  309.     See  ibid,  for  the 
other  references  to  Arkansas. 

U.    S.     Vol.  8— G 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

nessee,  most  of  it  created  in  aid  of  railroads  and  turnpikes, 
was  increased  by  $16,000,000,  and  the  bonds  were  sold  at 
from  seventeen  to  forty  cents  on  the  dollar  for  greenbacks.1 
In  Nashville,2  when  there  was  no  currency  in  the  treasury, 
checks  were  drawn,  often  in  the  name  of  fictitious  persons, 
made  payable  to  bearer,  and  sold  by  the  ring  to  note-shavers 
for  what  they  would  bring.  Warrants  on  the  Texas  treasury 
brought  forty-five  cents  a  dollar,  and  the  bonds  of  the  State 
were  practically  valueless.3 

In  Mississippi,  during  1875,  including  $374,119.80, 
vouchers,  etc.,  not  charged  on  the  books,  $2,164,928.22  were 
expended.  In  1893,  the  expenditures  were  only  $1,249,- 
193.91.  In  1870,  the  State  tax  rate  was  $5  on  the  $1,000. 
In  1871,  it  was  $4;  in  1872,  $8.50;  in  1873,  $12.50;  in 

1874,  $14.     In  1875,'  it  fell  to  $9.25.     The  Democrats  came 
in  in  1876,  whereupon  the  rate  fell  to  $6,  decreasing  contin 
ually  until  it  reached  $2.50  (1882-85),  after  which  time  it 
rose  once  more,  in  1894,  standing  at  $6.    The  average  county 
tax  rate  also  fell  from  $13.39,  in  1874,  to  $7.68,  in  1894. 
Comparing  the   average  rate  between  the  years   1870   and 

1875,  inclusive,  with  that  between  1876  and  1894,  inclusive, 
we  find  that  the  State  tax  rate  under  Republican  rule  was 
two  and   a  third  times  higher  than  under  the  Democrats 
afterward.     The  county  tax  rate  for  the  same  six  years  aver 
aged  about  an  eighth  higher  than  for  the  nineteen  years  after 
1875. 

Under  the  Republicans  the  annual  average  of  auditor's 
warrants  issued  for  common  schools  was  $56,184.39.  To 
September,  1895,  the  Democrats  issued  an  average  nearly  six 
times  as  large.  Mississippi's  total  payable  and  interest-bear 
ing  debt  on  January  1,  1876,  when  the  Democratic  adminis 
tration  succeeded  the  Republican,  amounted  to  $984,200, 


1  J.  P.  Jones,  "Why  the  Solid  South,"  p.  214. 

*Ibid.,  199. 

3  Chas.  Stewart,  "Why  the  Solid  South,"  p.  378.  On  all  the  fore 
going  debt  statements  see  also  S.  B.  Weeks  in  "Political  Science  Quar 
terly,"  Vol.  IX,  p.  681  et  seq. 


"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.      123 

besides  $414,958.31  in  unpaid  auditor's  warrants.     The  Re 
publicans'  expenditures  were  as  in  the  following  table: 

1870  (Beginning  March    11) $    975,455.05 

1871  (For  the  whole  year) 1,729,046.34 

1872 \ 1,596,828.64 

1873    1,450,632.80 

1874    1,319,281.60 

1875    1,430,192.83 


Total    $8,501,437.86 

Average  per  annum $1,464,480.00 

After  the  downfall  of  the  Republican  order,  the  heaviest 
expenditures  were  in  1894  —  $1,378,752.70;  the  lightest, 
$518,709.03,  in  1876.  The  average  annual  expenditure, 
from  1876  to  1894,  was  between  sixty  and  seventy  per  cent 
of  the  average  for  reconstruction  times.1 

When,  in  July,  1868,  Rufus  B.  Bullock  became  Gov 
ernor  of  Georgia,  the  debt  of  that  State  stood  at  $5,827,000. 
All  had  been  created  since  the  war  except  the  Brunswick  and 
Albany  debt  about  to  be  mentioned.  $429,000  of  the  debt, 
perhaps  more,  was  paid  during  Governor  Bullock's  three 
years,  but  the  bonded  indebtedness  of  the  State  was  mean 
time  increased  by  the  issue  of  $3,000,000  in  gold  bonds  for 
the  State's  own  behoof,  and  of  $1,800,000  gold  bonds  in  pay 
ment  of  a  State  war  debt  to  the  Brunswick  and  Albany  Rail 
road  Company.  Considering  this  sum  the  State's  debt  at 
the  end  of  the  war,  its  actual  debt  on  January  1,  1874,  be 
ing  $8,343,000,  we  may  place  the  debt  incurred  during  re 
construction  at  about  six  and  a  half  millions.  The  out 
standing  bonds  of  defaulted  railroads,  the  validity  of  which 
was  acknowledged  by  the  State,  are  not  included  in  this 
amount. 

The  contingent  liabilities  of  the  State  were  also  increased 

JThe  Mississippi  figures  are  vouched  for  by  J.  J.  Evans,  State  Treas 
urer  in  October,  1895,  as  from  the  Mississippi  State  Treasurer's  and 
Auditor's  books  and  reports.  The  author  begs  his  readers'  pardon  for 
using  in  the  Magazine  draft  of  this  History  a  table  of  Southern  State 
reconstruction  debts  which  enormously  exaggerated  the  Mississippi  and 
also  the  Georgia  debt. 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

during  the  Bullock  administration  by  the  indorsement  of  rail 
road  bonds  to  a  total  of  $6,923,400.  The  Georgia  Air  Line 
returned  $240,000,  which  should  be  deducted  from  the  above 
total.  On  the  other  hand,  the  total  must  be  enlarged  by 
$400,000  in  bonds,  of  the  Macon  and  Brunswick  Railroad 
Company,  indorsed,  as  it  would  seem,  though  no  official  rec 
ord  was  made,  by  Governor  Jenkins.  It  was  charged  and 
almost  universally  believed,  but  not  proved,  that  State  in 
dorsement  was  often,  if  not  regularly,  secured  before  the 
beneficiary  roads  had  built  and  equipped  the  required  num 
ber  of  miles.  The  Cartersville  and  Van  Wert  secured  $275,- 
000  of  indorsed  bonds ;  then,  changing  its  name  to  the  Chero 
kee  Railroad  and  agreeing  to  withdraw  these  bonds,  obtained 
a  new  issue  of  indorsed  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $300,000. 
The  first  issue  was  not,  after  all,  withdrawn,  and  color  was 
thus  given  to  insinuations  against  Governor  Bullock's  integ 
rity.  Such  insinuations  were  also  made  in  the  case  of  the 
Bainbridge  and  Columbus  road,  but  fell  flat,  $240,000  in 
bonds  for  this  road  the  Governor  indorsed  before  leaving  the 
State  on  a  temporary  visit,  but  the  guarantee  could  not  be 
valid  without  the  State  seal.  The  Secretary  of  State  was 
to  affix  this  in  case  the  road  complied  with  the  conditions, 
which  was  not  done,  and  the  bonds  were  never  issued. 

The  Georgia  railroad  bonds  were  bought  partly  by  North 
erners,  partly  by  a  German  syndicate.  At  home  they  were 
ceaselessly  denounced  as  "bogus"  and  "fraudulent,"  on  the 
ground  that  they  had -been  issued  contrary  to  the  conditions 
of  the  authorizing  statutes,  as  well  as,  in  some  cases,  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  State.  The  State,  however,  refused  to 
submit  the  question  to  her  courts,  but  repudiated  the  bonds, 
and,  to  assure  herself  against  payment,  in  18TT,  embodied 
the  repudiation  in  her  Constitution.1 

The  first  South  Carolina  Legislature,  under  the  recon- 


1  The  direct  gold  bonds  to  the  Brunswick  and  Albany  were  among 
the  repudiated.  The  only  railroad  bonds  recognized  as  valid  amounted 
to  $2,688,000  to  four  different  roads,  one  of  which  was  paying  its  inter 
est.  Tenth  Census,  Vol.  VII,  p.  585. 


"CARPET-BAGGER"  AND  "SCALAWAG"  IN  DIXIE.      125 

structed  Constitution,  an  excellent  instrument,  by  the  way, 
consisted  of  seventy-two  white  and  eighty-five  colored  mem 
bers,  containing  only  twenty-one  white  Democrats.  At  that 
date  the  State's  funded  debt  amounted  to  $5,407,306.27.  At 
the  close  of  the  four  years  of  Governor  R.  K.  Scott's  admin 
istration,  December,  1872,  though  no  public  works  of  appre 
ciable  importance  had  been  begun  or  completed,  that  debt, 
with  past-due  interest,  amounted  to  $18,515,033.91.  This 
increase  represented  "only  increased,  extravagant,  and  prof 
ligate  current  expenditures."  In  December,  1873,  an  act 
was  passed  declaring  invalid  $5,965,000  of  the  bonds  known 
as  "conversion"  bonds,  recognizing  as  valid  $11,480,033.91 
in  principal  and  accrued  interest,  and  providing  for  refund 
ing  the  debt  in  new  bonds  at  50  per  cent  of  the  par  value  of 
the  old.  Between  1868  and  December,  1874,  the  total  cost 
of  sessions  of  the  Legislature,  six  regular  and  two  special, 
was  $2,147,430.97,  to  say  nothing  of  bills  payable  for  legis 
lative  expenses,  amounting  to  $192, 275. 15. 1  The  total  cost 
of  State  printing  and  advertising  during  the  period  named 
was  $1,104,569.91,  and  during  the  last  three  years  thereof 
$918,629.86.  Running  deficiencies  were  simply  enormous. 
For  the  single  fiscal  year  ending  October  31,  1874,  they  were 
$472,619.54.  Warrants,  orders,  and  certificates  for  public 
money  were  issued  when  no  funds  were  on  hand  to  pay  them. 
There  was  thus,  in  addition  to  the  bonded  debt,  a  floating 
indebtedness  of  nearly  or  quite  a  million  dollars.2 

By  1874,  in  most  of  the  Southern  States,  the  carpet-bag 
governments  had  succumbed.  Such  States  were  well  on  the 
way  to  order  and  prosperity,  though  breaches  of  the  peace  still 
occurred  there  with  distressing  frequency.  From  Alabama, 
in  particular,  came  startling  reports  of  terrorism.  They  had 
some  foundation,  but  were  greatly  exaggerated  by  interested 
or  ill-informed  persons.  In  a  letter  to  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Haw- 
ley,  Hon.  Charles  Hayes  wrote  of  one  Allen  as  having  been 
beaten  by  ruffians  and  threatened  with  death  if  he  "didn't  keep 

Governor  Chamberlain's  "Administration  in  South  Carolina,"  p.  17. 
2  Ibid.,  p.   18  et  seq. 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

his  mouth  shut  about  that  d — d  Yankee,  Billings/'  who  had 
been  assassinated.  To  a  New  York  "Tribune"  correspondent 
Allen  said  he  had  been  assaulted  by  a  solitary  gentleman, 
armed  only  with  the  weapons  of  nature,  who  scratched  his 
face.  Some  "massacred"  persons  denied  that  they  had  been 
hurt  at  all.  Such  violence  as  did  occur  by  no  means  always 
proceeded  from  whites.  It  is  well  authenticated  that  colored 
Democrats  were  maltreated  by  colored  Republicans.  The 
blacks  were  often  unfriendly  to  whites  even  when  these  were 
Republicans.  It  is  quite  true  that  where  negroes  were  thought 
to  be  politically  dangerous  or  were  otherwise  obnoxious  to  the 
whites  they  received  little  consideration.  Sixteen  were  taken 
from  a  jail  in  Tennessee  and  shot  by  a  band  of  masked  horse 
men,  their  bodies  being  left  in  the  road.  The  Governor  of 
fered  a  reward  for  the  apprehension  of  the  murderers,  when 
one  turned  State's  evidence  and  told  everything.  The  others 
were  at  once  arrested ;  whether  punished  does  not  appear. 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.      127 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DECLINE   OF   THE    TRANSITIONAL   GOVERNMENTS   IN   SOUTH 
CAROLINA,  ARKANSAS,  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  LOUISIANA. 

Gen.  Sherman  on  the  Southern  Problem — Reckless  Legislation  in 
South  Carolina — Appeal  of  the  Taxpayers'  Union — Gov.  Cham 
berlain's  Reforms — The  Conflict  in  Arkansas — Factions — The 
Stake  Fought  For — A  New  Constitution — Gov.  Garland  Elected 
— Report  of  the  Poland  Committee — The  Vicksburg  "War" — 
Mayor  vs.  Governor — President  Grant  will  not  Interfere — Sena 
tor  Revels  on  the  Situation — The  Mississippi  Reconstructionists 
— The  Kellogg-McEnery  Imbroglio  in  Louisiana — Metropolitans 
and  White  Leaguers  Fight — The  Kellogg  Government  Overthrown 
but  Re-established  by  Federal  Arms — Protests — The  Election  of 
Nov.  2,  1874 — Methods  of  the  Returning  Board — Gen.  Sheridan 
in  Command — Legislature  Organized  Amid  Bayonets — Members 
Removed  by  Federal  Soldiers — Sheridan's  Views — Allegations 
Contra — Public  Opinion  at  the  North — The  "Wheeler  Adjust 
ment." 

SOUTH  CAKOLI]STA,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana 
were  in  1874  still  under  carpet-bag  sway.  Their  nearly 
complete  deliverance  therefrom  during  this  year  and  the  next 
forms  an  interesting  chapter  in  the  recent  history  of  our 
country. 

In  a  letter  written  so  early  as  1869,  after  an  extended 
Southern  trip,  General  Sherman  said:  "I  do  think  some  po 
litical  power  might  be  given  to  the  young  men  who  served  in 
the  rebel  army,  for  they  are  a  better  class  than  the  adventurers 
who  have  gone  South  purely  for  office."  Again,  in  1871,  he 
wrote :  "I  told  Grant  plainly  that  the  South  would  go  against 
him  en  masse,  though  he  counts  on  South  Carolina,  Louisiana, 
and  Arkansas.  I  repeated  my  conviction  that  all  that  was 
vital  in  the  South  was  against  him;  that  negroes  were  gen 
erally  quiescent  and  could  not  be  relied  on  as  voters  when  local 
questions  became  mixed  up  with  political  matters."  This  was 
an  exact  forecast  of  the  actual  event  in  all  the  States  named. 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

In  each  a  reform  faction  of  white  Republicans  grew  up,  dis 
gusted  with  carpet-bag  corruption  and  unwilling  longer  to 
limit  their  political  creed  to  the  single  article  of  negro  rights. 
In  the  face  of  this  quarrel,  negroes  became  bewildered,  so  that 
they  either  scattered,  withheld,  or  traded  their  votes,  in  a  way 
to  replace  political  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Democrats. 

The  carpet-bag  Legislature  of  South  Carolina  guaranteed 
$6,000,000  in  railroad  bonds  to  subsidize  the  Greenville  & 
Columbia  and  the  Blue  Ridge  Railroads,  taking  mortgages  on 
the  roads  to  cover  the  amount.  Rings  of  carpet-baggers  and 
native  speculators  obtained  legislation  releasing  the  mortgages 
but  continuing  the  State's  liabilities.  Seven  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  or  more  in  fraudulent  State  bank 
notes  were  approved  and  assumed  by  the  State.  Though 
property  in  general  had  lost  two-thirds  of  its  ante-bellum 
value,  it  paid  on  the  average  five  times  heavier  taxes.  In 
1872,  288,000  acres  of  land  with  buildings  were  said  to  have 
been  forfeited  for  the  tax  of  twelve  cents  an  acre.  As  in 
Arkansas  and  in  Louisiana,  the  Governor  had  dangerously 
great  patronage.  ISTegro  felons  were  pardoned  by  wholesale 
for  political  purposes.  Undeserving  white  convicts  could  be 
ransomed  for  money.  Of  the  three  justices  on  the  Supreme 
Bench  one  was  a  carpet-bagger  and  one  a  negro.  Juries  were 
composed  of  illiterate  and  degraded  men. 

In  March,  1874,  a  committee  of  the  South  Carolina  Tax 
payers'  Union  waited  on  President  Grant  with  complaints. 
He  expressed  regret  at  the  anarchic  condition  of  South  Caro 
lina,  but  said  that  as  the  State  government  was  in  complete 
working  order  the  Federal  authority  was  powerless.  This  ap 
peal,  however,  favorably  affected  public  opinion.  "It  shows/' 
said  one  journal,  "that  the  South  cherishes  no  sullen  hostil 
ity."  Antipathy  toward  Southerners  slowly  changed  to  sym 
pathy.  The  doings  of  the  South  Carolina  Republicans  could 
not  but  be  disapproved  by  the  party  in  the  nation.  Demo 
crats  and  non-partisans  denounced  them  as  travestying  free 
institutions. 

In  1874  the  South  Carolina  Republicans  quarreled.  After 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       129 

a  hot  contest  the  regular  convention  nominated  Hon.  D.  IT. 
Chamberlain  for  Governor,  Moses,  his  predecessor,  being  set 
aside.  Chamberlain  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  a  grad 
uate  of  Yale  and  of  the  Harvard  Law  School.  He  was  a  pol 
ished  gentleman  and  an  able  lawyer.  During  the  war  he  had 
been  First  Lieutenant  and  then  Captain  in  the  Fifth  Massa 
chusetts  Cavalry.  His  principal  service  in  the  army  was  in 
the  way  of  staff  duty  as  Judge- Advocate  and  as  Assistant  Ad 
jutant-General.  War  ended,  he  became  a  citizen  of  South 
Carolina  in  time  to  sit  in  its  Constitutional  Convention.  The 
Independent  Republicans  bolted  Chamberlain's  nomination 
and  put  up  for  Governor  Judge  John  T.  Green,  a  native  South 
Carolinian,  to  whose  standard  rallied  the  entire  "reform"  ele 
ment  of  the  State,  whether  Conservative  or  Republican. 

The  Chamberlain  ticket  was  elected.  In  his  inaugural 
address  Governor  Chamberlain  marked  out  an  able  scheme  of 
retrenchment  and  reform,  soon  showing,  to  the  astonishment 
of  many  and  to  the  dismay  of  some  among  his  leading  support 
ers,  that  he  was  in  earnest  with  it.  The  enormous  power  given 
the  Executive,  apparently  that  he  might  abuse  it,  enabled 
Chamberlain,  spite  of  his  party  allies,  to  effect  sweeping  im 
provements.  He  supplanted  dishonest  officials  with  men  of 
integrity,  Republicans  if  such  were  available,  if  not,  Demo 
crats.  He  vetoed  corrupt  jobs  and  firmly  withheld  pardons. 
Ex-Governor  Moses  and  the  infamous  Whipper,  elected  by 
the  Legislature  to  the  Circuit  Bench,  he  refused  to  commis 
sion.  Good  jurors  were  selected,  and  crime  and  race  hatred 
wonderfully  diminished.  Like  the  English  in  Ireland,  Gov 
ernor  Chamberlain  learned  that  an  abstractedly  good  govern 
ment  over  a  community  may  fit  the  community  very  ill. 
Carpet-bagger,  scalawag,  and  negro,  however  well  intentioned 
and  wisely  led,  could  not  in  the  nature  of  the  case  rule  South 
Carolina  well.  Nevertheless  his  praiseworthy  effort  hastened 
the  advent  of  order  by  revealing  the  nature  of  the  evils  which 
needed  reforming. 

Arkansas  was  another  of  the  States  where  exotic  govern 
ment  died  extremely  hard.  Its  persistence  there  was  due  to 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  strong  Union  sentiment  which  had  always  existed  north  of 
the  Arkansas  Elver.  The  State's  colored  vote  was  only  a 
quarter  of  the  whole,  but  was  potent  in  combination  with  the 
large  white  vote  which  remained  Eepublican  till  shamed  into 
change.  In  this  State,  so  stubborn  were  the  traditions  and 
temper  of  its  citizens,  neither  faction  readily  gave  way. 

The  conflict  in  Arkansas  was  between  the  Liberal-Repub 
licans,  called  "brindle-tails,"  led  by  James  Brooks,  and  the 
Radical-Republicans,  headed  by  Baxter.  Chief  Justice  Mc- 
Clure,  nicknamed  "Poker  Jack,"  and  the  United  States  Sena 
tors,  Clayton  and  Dorsey,  sided  with  Baxter.  The  returns 
of  the  1872  election  seemed  to  make  Baxter  Governor,  but 
Brooks  alleged  fraud  and  sought  by  every  means  to  change  the 
result.  He  appealed  to  the  United  States  Court  for  a  quo 
warmnto  against  Baxter,  but  it  declined  to  assume  jurisdic 
tion  in  the  case.  The  State  Supreme  Court  also  declined. 
The  Legislature  could  have  authorized  a  contest,  but  refused 
to  do  so.  Not  disheartened,  Brooks  sued  for  and  secured 
from  the  Circuit  Court  of  Pulaski  County,  April  15,  1874, 
a  judgment  of  "ouster "  against  Baxter,  took  forcible  posses 
sion  of  the  State-house,  and  held  it  with  cannon  and  some 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  Next  day  Baxter  proclaimed  martial 
law,  marched  two  hundred  partisans  of  his  into  Little  Rock 
and  surrounded  the  State-house.  The  Federal  forces,  while 
neutral,  enjoined  both  parties  from  precipitating  an  armed 
collision.  Reinforcements  from  both  sides  constantly  came 
in,  making  Little  Rock  for  the  time  a  military  camp. 

A  body  of  Baxter's  colored  supporters,  applauding  some 
utterance  of  his,  were  fired  into — accidentally,  as  was  said. 
Indiscriminate  shooting  ensued,  with  sanguinary  results. 
Federal  forces  had  to  quell  the  disturbance.  Excitement 
was  undiminished  until  the  end  of  April,  breaches  of  the 
peace  being  frequent,  though  no  general  engagement  occurred. 
On  April  30th  took  place  an  action  in  which  Brooks  suffered 
the  loss  of  twenty-five  men  killed  and  wounded ;  some  accounts 
say  seventy-one.  A  week  later,  and  again  two  days  later  still, 
there  were  sharp  skirmishes.  The  streets  of  Little  Rock  were 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       131 

barricaded,  and  communication  with  the  outside  world  much 
impeded.  Meantime  the  agents  of  the  two  parties  in  Wash 
ington  were  engaged  in  legal  and  diplomatic  fencing,  but 
effort  after  effort  at  compromise  proved  abortive. 

Neither  side  had  an  inspiring  cause.  In  that  poverty- 
stricken  State  offices  were  perhaps  more  numerous  and  fat 
than  in  any  other  commonwealth  of  the  Union.  Each  side 
hungered  for  these.  A  cartoon  of  the  period  figured  Arkansas 
as  a  woman  gripped  between  two  remorseless  brigands  with 
pistols  leveled  at  each  other.  By  the  Constitution  of  1868 
the  Governor  appointed  to  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  sal 
aried  posts,  besides  creating  all  the  justices  of  the  peace  and 
constables.  Public  expenditures,  which,  in  six  years,  had 
amounted  to  $17,000,000,  might,  if  properly  looked  after,  be 
made  a  rich  source  of  revenue  to  many.  The  following  in 
stance  is  well  authenticated  and  where  there  can  be  one  such 
there  are  certain  to  be  many:  In  Fort  Smith  in  1873  a  widow 
who  made  a  living  by  sewing  was  taxed  $60  on  a  lot  fronting 
in  a  back  alley  and  a  house  which  could  be  built  for  from 
$300  to  $400.  It  was  more  money  than  she  ever  had  at  one 
time  in  her  life.  Moved  to  tears  over  this  woman's  deep  dis 
tress  at  the  prospective  loss  of  her  home,  a  benevolent  lady  per 
suaded  her  husband  to  pay  the  taxes  as  an  act  of  charity.1 

The  Legislature,  convened  by  Baxter  on  the  llth  of  May, 
telegraphed  for  Federal  interposition.  Grant  at  once  recog 
nized  Baxter  and  his  Legislature,  and  ordered  aall  turbulent 
and  disorderly  persons  to  disperse."  But  the  end  was  yet  re 
mote.  The  Poland  Committee  on  Arkansas  Affairs,  appointed 
by  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  elicited  the  fact 
that  Baxter  and  the  leaders  of  his  party,  notably  Clayton  and 
Dorsey,  were  no  longer  on  good  terms.  His  disappointing  in 
tegrity  had  lost  Baxter  his  "pull"  with  the  Senators  and  with 
the  Arkansas  Supreme  Court,  presided  over  by  McClure. 
The  following  is  from  the  evidence  laid  before  the  committee 
during  the  summer  of  1874: 

*  W.  M.  Fishback.     "Why  the  Solid  South,"  p.  308. 


132  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

"Q.  State  what  you  know  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the 
difficulties  between  Governor  Baxter  and  the  leaders  of  the 
party  that  elected  him. 

"A.  As  I  understand  it,  in  the  time  of  it,  it  originated 
with  an  effort  made  on  the  part  of  the  Republican  party 
proper  to  carry  through  the  railroad  bill.  It  originated  with 
his  opposition  to  this  bill,  or  with  his  declaring  that  he  would 
defeat  the  bill. 

"Q.  What  was  the  nature  of  the  bill  ? 

"A.  There  had  been  $5,200,000  State-aid  bonds  issued, 
and  the  object  of  the  bill  was  for  the  State  to  assume  that 
indebtedness  and  take  in  lieu  of  it  railroad  bonds. 

"Q.  Was  that  considered  as  any  fair  equivalent? 

"A.  It  was  considered  that  that  would  be  of  no  value 
at  all. 

"Q.  What  was  the  general  opinion  in  relation  to  those 
bonds;  was  it  that  the  State  had  any  benefit  from  them,  or 
the  roads,  or  individuals  who  pocketed  the  bonds  ? 

"A.  The  impression  on  the  public  mind  is  that  the 
bonds  were  divided  up  between  the  managers  of  the  different 
roads.'7 1 

Baxter's  new  attitude  surprisingly  quickened  the  Supreme 
Court's  sense  of  jurisdiction.  Two  of  its  judges  were  kid 
napped,  but  escaped,  and  four  days  before  the  Legislature  con 
vened,  four  of  the  five,  though  "feeling  some  delicacy"  in 
doing  so,  reversed  the  former  denial  of  jurisdiction,  and  on 
May  7,  1874,  affirmed  the  decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  in 
Brooks' s  favor. 

The  Legislature  provided  for  a  Constitutional  Convention 
to  convene  on  July  14,  1874,  an  action  overwhelmingly  in 
dorsed  by  the  people  at  the  next  election.  The  new  Consti 
tution,  ratified  78,000  to  24,000  in  October,  swept  the  Gov 
ernor's  enormous  patronage  away,  as  also  his  power  to  declare 
martial  law  and  to  suspend  habeas  corpus.  The  tax-levying 

*  House  Committee  Reports,  1st  Session  43d  Congress,  Vol.  V,  Report 
No.  771,  p.  149;  Testimony  of  ex-Circuit  Judge  Liberty  Bartlett. 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       133 

and  debt-contracting  functions  of  the  Legislature  were  strictly 
hedged  about.  The  number  of  offices  was  to  be  diminished 
and  all  were  to  be  elective.  Disfranchisements  were  abol 
ished.  The  most  important  of  all  the  changes  related  to 
the  Returning  Board.  The  old  Constitution  had  vested  in 
this  body  extraordinary  authority,  like  that  given  it  by  statute 
in  Florida,  South  Carolina,  and  Louisiana.  It  designated 
three  officers  who  were  to  receive  all  election  returns,  compile 
and  count  them,  reject  fraudulent  and  illegal  votes,  and  in 
case  of  irregularities  in  the  election,  occasioned  by  fraud  or 
fear  in  any  county  or  precinct,  to  correct  the  return  or  to  re 
ject  it  and  order  a  new  election.  The  judicial  part  of  this 
fearful  sovereignty  was  now  annulled. 

The  State  Democracy  indorsed  these  changes  as  "just, 
liberal,  and  wise,"  and  offered  Baxter  the  nomination  for 
Governor,  which  he  refused.  The  opposition  cried  out  that 
the  State  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  Ku-Klux  and 
White  Leagues,  that  Brooks  was  the  true  Governor,  and  that 
the  new  Constitution  was  revolutionary  and  void.  They  made 
no  nominations  under  it,  so  that  at  the  election  Garland,  the 
Democratic  nominee,  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  75,000 
votes. 

Early  in  1875  the  Poland  Committee  submitted  to  the 
House  its  report  upon  the  Arkansas  imbroglio.  It  stated 
that  the  new  Arkansas  Constitution  was  Republican  in  form 
and  recommended  non-interference,  saying  that  while  negro 
citizenship  was  not  relished  by  the  Southern  people,  few,  ex 
cept  certain  lawless  youths,  who  should  be  sternly  dealt  with, 
would  do  aught  to  disturb  it.  A  minority  report  was  signed 
by  Jasper  D.  Ward,  of  Illinois,  who  had  gone  to  Little  Rock 
in  company  with  Dorsey,  and  had  during  his  entire  stay  re 
mained  at  Dor3ey's  house,  where  he  met  few  but  Brooksites. 
The  President  took  issue  with  the  Poland  Committee.  In  a 
special  message,  two  days  after  its  report,  he  expressed  the 
opinion  that  Brooks  was  the  legal  Governor  of  Arkansas  and 
the  new  Constitution  revolutionary.  Spite  of  this,  however, 
the  House  adopted  the  Poland  report,  thus,  in  effect,  ending 


134  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

the  long  broil  and  suspense.     Governor  Garland  at  once  pro 
claimed  Thursday,  March  25,  1875,  a  day  of  thanksgiving. 

Before  light  one  morning  in  the  winter  of  1874-75,  the 
white  citizens  of  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  were  roused  by  the  news 
that  armed  negroes  were  approaching  the  city.  They  sprang 
to  arms  and  organized.  Just  outside  the  city  limits  a  detach 
ment  of  whites  met  a  body  of  two  hundred  negroes  and  soon 
put  them  to  rout,  killing  six,  wounding  several,  and  taking 
some  prisoners.  Almost  at  the  same  time  a  similar  engage 
ment  was  in  progress  near  the  monument  where  Pemberton 
surrendered  to  Grant  in  1863.  The  man  who  headed  the 
citizens  said  that  the  conflict  lasted  only  a  few  minutes.  The 
negroes  fled  in  wild  disorder,  leaving  behind  twenty  killed  and 
wounded.  At  still  other  points  negro  bands  were  charged 
upon  and  routed.  Three  whites  were  killed  and  three 
wounded,  while  of  the  colored  about  seventy-five  were  killed 
and  wounded  and  thirty  or  forty  made  prisoners.  By  noon 
the  war  was  over,  and  on  the  following  day  business  was 
resumed  amid  quiet  and  order. 

The  causes  of  this  bloody  affair  were  differently  recited. 
An  address  published  by  the  citizens  of  Vicksburg  a  few 
days  later  alleged  a  series  of  frauds  by  certain  colored  cc  anty 
officials.  Some  of  these  had  been  indicted  by  a  grand  jury 
composed  of  ten  colored  and  seven  white  men.  Among  the 
accused  was  George  W.  Davenport,  Clerk  of  the  Court  of 
Chancery  and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  The 
citizens  further  declared  that  the  bonds  of  Sheriff  and  Tax 
Collector  Crosby  were  worthless,  and  also  that  he  had  made 
away  with  incriminating  records  to  save  comrades  of  his  who 
were  under  indictment.  A  mass-meeting  was  held,  and 
accused  officials  asked  to  resign.  Davenport  fled  the  county ; 
Crosby  yielded.  Soon,  however,  by  an  inflammatory  hand 
bill,  over  Crosby's  name,  in  which  the  "Taxpayers"  were 
named  a  mob  of  ruffians,  barbarians  and  political  banditti,  the 
colored  people  of  the  county  were  called  upon  to  support  him. 
It  was  rumored  that  a  rising  of  blacks  was  imminent,  though 
Crosby  had  disowned  the  pamphlet  and  promised  to  bid  his 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.      135 

adherents  disperse.  Governor  Ames  proclaimed  a  state  of 
riot  and  disorder,  and  invoked  the  aid  of  all  citizens  in  up 
holding  the  laws.  Upon  receipt  of  the  Governor's  proclama 
tion  the  Mayor  of  Yicksburg  issued  a  counter-manifesto  as 
serting  that  the  mass-meeting,  which  the  Governor  had  de 
nounced  as  riotous  and  as  having  driven  the  sheriff  from  his 
office,  was  a  quiet  and  orderly  gathering  of  taxpayers  who, 
without  arms  or  violence,  had  "requested  the  resignation  of 
irresponsible  officials.'7  His  Honor  continued:  "Whereas  the 
Governor's  proclamation  has  excited  the  citizens  of  the  county, 
and  I  have  this  moment  received  information  that  armed 
bodies  of  colored  men  have  organized  and  are  now  marching 
on  the  city,  I  command  such  unlawful  assemblages  and 
armed  bodies  of  men  to  disperse." 

Spite  of  his  Honor's  denial,  Governor  Ames  ascribed  the 
trouble  to  violence  and  intimidation  against  blacks  by  whites, 
constituting  a  reign  of  terror,  and  convened  the  Legislature  in 
extra  session.  This  body  called  upon  President  Grant  to 
awaken  what  Sumner  called  "the  sleeping  giant  of  the  Con 
stitution"  and  protect  the  State  against  domestic  violence. 
Grant  was  reluctant  to  interpose.  In  his  annual  message 
hardly  a  fortnight  before  he  had  said :  "The  whole  subject  of 
Executive  interference  with  the  affairs  of  a  State  is  repugnant 
to  public  opinion."  "Unless  most  clearly  on  the  side  of  law 
such  interference  becomes  a  crime."  He  therefore  merely  is 
sued  a  proclamation  commanding  all  disorderly  bands  in 
Mississippi  to  disperse.  But  breaches  of  the  peace  continued. 
At  a  public  meeting  in  Yazoo  City  one  man  was  killed  and 
three  or  four  wounded.  The  speaker  of  the  evening,  a  Re- 
publican  office-holder,  left  the  county,  professing  to  believe 
his  life  in  danger.  In  Clinton,  three  days  later,  at  a  Repub 
lican  barbecue,  where  there  was  a  discussion  between  a  Re 
publican  and  a  Democrat,  a  personal  quarrel  sprang  up,  dur 
ing  which  two  negroes  were  shot.  This  was  the  signal  for 
a  general  attack  by  blacks  upon  whites,  in  the  course  of  which 
three  white  men  were  killed  and  several  wounded.  Later  in 
the  night  seven  or  eight  negroes  were  killed,  when  the  armed 


136  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

men  dispersed  and  quiet  was  restored.  Another  outbreak 
at  Friar's  Point,  a  month  afterward,  was  clearly  incited  by 
a  colored  sheriff,  who  had  called  together  a  body  of  armed 
negroes  to  support  him  in  the  County  Convention. 

Ames  now  renewed  his  petition  for  United  States  troops, 
but  met  with  a  chilling  response  from  the  new  Attorney-Gen 
eral,  Edwards  Pierrepont,  a  Democrat  till  Seymour's  nomi 
nation,  thereafter  a  conservative  Republican.  He  declared 
that  the  General  Government  could  aid  Mississippi  only  when 
all  the  resources  of  the  State  Executive  had  been  exhausted. 
He  accompanied  this  utterance  with  words  from  Grant's  de 
spatches:  "The  whole  public  are  tired  out  with  these  annual 
autumnal  outbreaks  in  the  South,  and  the  great  majority  now 
are  ready  to  condemn  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
Government.'5  Failing  to  secure  assistance  from  Washington, 
Governor  Ames's  party  finally  made  an  arrangement  with  the 
Conservatives,  which  assured  a  peaceable  election. 

This  resulted  in  Republican  defeat,  whereupon  Mr.  Revels, 
the  colored  Senator  from  Mississippi,  wrote  to  the  President 
the  following:  "Since  reconstruction  the  masses  of  people 
have  been,  as  it  were,  enslaved  in  mind  by  unprincipled  adven 
turers.  A  great  portion  of  them  have  learned  that  they  were 
being  used  as  mere  tools,  and  determined,  by  casting  their 
ballots  against  these  unprincipled  adventurers,  to  overthrow 
them.  The  bitterness  and  hate  created  by  the  late  civil  strife 
have,  in  my  opinion,  been  obliterated  in  this  State,  except, 
perhaps,  in  some  localities,  and  would  have  long  since  been 
entirely  effaced  were  it  not  for  some  unprincipled  men  who 
would  keep  alive  the  bitterness  of  the  past  and  inculcate  a 
hatred  between  the  races  in  order  that  they  may  aggrandize 
themselves  by  office  and  its  emoluments  to  control  my  people, 
the  effect  of  which  is  to  degrade  them.  If  the  State  admin 
istration  had  advanced  patriotic  measures,  appointed  only 
honest  and  competent  men  to  office,  and  sought  to  restore 
confidence  between  the  races,  bloodshed  would  have  been 
unknown,  peace  would  have  prevailed,  Federal  interference 
been  unthought  of,  and  harmony,  friendship,  and  mutual  con- 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       137 

fidence  would  have  taken  the  place  of  the  bayonet."  This 
"Yea,  yea/'  as  it  was  called,  "of  a  colored  brother  who  never 
said  nay/'  was  corroborated  by  testimony  from  other  promi 
nent  Republicans,  white  and  black. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  warmly  urged  that,  as  a  class, 
the  Northern  men  in  Mississippi  were  noble  ex-soldiers,  pos 
sessing  virtues  equal  to  those  of  their  old  associates,  worthy 
sons  of  the  fathers  who  founded  this  Republic,  and  that  they 
went  to  Mississippi  with  the  same  commendable  motives  under 
which  their  kinsmen  have  populated  the  continent  from  ocean 
to  ocean — to  establish  homes  and  to  improve  society — taking 
all  their  capital  and  urging  others  to  follow  them. 

"The  Southern  man  had  a  motive  in  slandering  the  recon- 
structionists.  He  committed  crimes  upon  crimes  to  prevent 
the  political  equality  of  the  negro,  and  found  his  justification, 
before  the  world,  in  the  conduct  of  those  who  were  obeying 
the  laws  of  the  land.  The  debts  of  South  Carolina  were  made 
to  do  duty  in  Mississippi,  where  there  were  no  debts.  In  fact 
violence  began  at  once,  before  there  was  time  to  contract  debts 
in  any  of  the  States. 

"At  first  there  was  no  political  question.  At  first  the 
enmity  of  a  conquered  people  did  not  manifest  itself.  It  was 
left  for  the  Union  soldiers  practically  to  solve  the  problem  of 
reconstruction  put  upon  them  by  a  Union  Congress — a  Con 
gress  whose  laws  they  had  always  obeyed  and  the  wisdom  of 
whose  decisions  it  never  occurred  to  them  to  doubt.  Their 
only  offence  against  the  State  of  Mississippi  was  an  honest 
effort  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  They  incorpo 
rated  into  the  organic  laws  of  the  State,  to  its  great  benefit, 
some  of  the  best  features  found  in  the  Constitutions  of  North 
ern  States.  They  especially  sought  to  build  up  or  rehabilitate 
educational  and  eleemosynary  institutions.  They  would  have 
liked  to  help  by  legislation  the  material  condition  of  the  State 
in  its  railroads  and  levees,  but  wiser  counsels  prevailed  and 
the  errors  of  other  reconstructed  States  were  avoided. 

"The  offence  of  the  Northern  soldier  was  in  reconstructing 
at  all — in  giving  (under  the  law)  the  negro  the  ballot.  Po- 


138  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

litical  equality  for  the  negro  meant,  to  the  whites,  negro  su 
premacy.  Physical  resistance  followed.  The  few  Union 
soldiers  and  their  allies  in  Mississippi  soon  fell  before  the 
Mississippians  and  their  reinforcements  from  Louisiana  and 
Alabama."  1 

Whatever  the  faults  of  Republican  administration  in  the 
State,  the  only  serious  assault  on  the  finances  of  Mississippi 
during  the  stormy  era  of  reconstruction  was  an  effort  to  repay 
some  of  the  millions  which  Mississippi  had  repudiated  years 
before.  But  this  effort  was  not  made  by  Union  soldiers  or  by 
Southern  unionists,  or  by  freedmen,  but  by  an  old  Confed 
erate  ;  and  the  scheme  was  defeated  by  a  carpet-bagger  official. 
It  is  well  known  that  while  Governor  of  Mississippi  General 
Ames  saved  that  State  in  the  case  of  the  Confederate  General 
Tucker's  railroad  about  one  million  dollars,  and  in  the  case 
of  the  Vicksburg  and  Ship  Island  road  some  seven  or  eight 
hundred  thousand  dollars  more.  But  for  General  Ames's 
timely  antagonism  and  the  use  of  counsel  to  resist  the  diver 
sion  of  the  State's  funds,  the  State  would  have  lost  largely 
over  a  million  dollars.  The  intelligent  people  of  Mississippi 
to  this  day  appreciate  Governor  Ames's  action  in  this  matter. 

In  Louisiana,  because  of  the  peculiarity  of  its  social  struc 
ture,  the  color-line  was  drawn  even  more  sharply  than  in 
South  Carolina.  In  South  Carolina  there  were  three  distinct 
castes  of  whites — the  aristocracy,  the  bourgeoisie,  and  the  poor 
whites  or  "sand-hillers,"  while  the  Louisiana  white  people 
were  a  thorough  democracy,  the  only  caste  division  in  the 
State  being  founded  on  color.  The  best  families  used  no  coats- 
of-arms ;  their  coachmen  and  servants  wore  no  livery.  The 
splendors  attending  vulgar  wealth  were  eschewed.  "There 
was  a  nobility  in  the  white  skin  more  sacred  and  more  re 
spected  than  the  one  derived  from  the  letters-patent  of  kings." 
Such  solidarity  among  the  whites  rendered  the  feud  precipi 
tated  by  the  negro's  enfranchisement  peculiarly  bitter.  White 
and  black  children  no  longer  played  together  as  of  yore.  To 

*  Ex-Governor  Adelbert  Ames. 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       139 

avoid  seeming  inferiority  colored  servants  refused  to  sleep 
under  the  same  roofs  with  their  old  masters. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  November,  1872,  Kellogg 
and  McEnery  each  claimed  to  be  elected  Governor  of  Louisi 
ana,  that  President  Grant  recognized  Kellogg,  but  that  Mc 
Enery  and  his  supporters  energetically  protested.  This  con 
test  had  never  been  quieted.  McEnery's  government  retained 
its  organization  though  deprived  of  all  power.  Near  the  close 
of  August,  1874,  the  troubles  grew  menacing.  The  two 
parties  had  met  in  convention,  when  the  country  was  startled 
by  the  news  of  the  arrest  and  deliberate  shooting  of  six  Re 
publican  officials.  As  in  all  such  cases  the  reports  were  con 
flicting,  one  side  declaring  it  a  merciless  war  of  whites  upon 
blacks,  the  other  an  uprising  of  the  blacks  themselves. 

The  wealth  of  Louisiana  made  the  State  a  special  tempta 
tion  to  carpet-baggers.  Between  1866  and  1872  taxes  had 
risen  five  hundred  per  cent.  Before  the  war  a  session  of  the 
Legislature  cost  from  $100,000  to  $200,000  ;  in  1871  the  regu 
lar  session  cost  between  $800,000  and  $900,000.  Judge 
Black  considered  it  "safe  to  say  that  a  general  conflagration, 
sweeping  over  all  the  State  from  one  end  to  the  other  and 
destroying  every  building  and  every  article  of  personal  prop 
erty,  would  have  been  a  visitation  of  mercy  in  comparison  to 
the  curse  of  such  a  government."  This  statement  is  not  ex 
travagant  if  his  other  assertion  is  correct,  that,  during  the 
ten  years  preceding  1876  New  Orleans  paid,  in  the  form  of 
direct  taxes,  more  than  the  estimated  value  of  all  the  property 
within  her  limits  in  the  year  named,  and  still  had  a  debt  of 
equal  amount  unpaid. 

Kellogg  had  a  body  of  Metropolitan  Police,  mostly  col 
ored,  paid  for  by  the  city  of  New  Orleans  but  under  his  per 
sonal  command,  which  formed  a  part  of  his  militia.  Over 
against  this  was  the  New  Orleans  White  League,  which  again 
is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  White  League  of  the  State. 
On  September  14th  a  mass-meeting  was  called  in  New  Orleans 
to  protest  against  the  Governor's  seizure  of  arms  shipped  to 
private  parties.  By  11  A.M.  the  broad  sidewalks  were  filled 


140  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

for  several  squares,  and  there  was  a  general  suspension  of 
business.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  Gov 
ernor  and  request  him  to  abdicate.  He  had  fled  from  the 
Executive  Office  to  the  Custom-house,  a  great  citadel,  gar 
risoned  at  that  time  by  United  States  troops.  From  his 
retreat  he  sent  word  declining  to  entertain  any  communica 
tion.  Their  leaders  advised  the  people  to  get  arms  and  return 
to  assist  the  White  League  in  executing  plans  that  would  be 
arranged.  A  large  number  formed  in  procession  and  inarched 
up  Poydras  Street.  By  3  P.M.  armed  men  were  posted  at 
street-crossings  south  of  Canal  Street.  Soon  a  strong  position 
was  taken  in  Poydras  Street,  the  streets  between  Poydras  and 
Canal  being  barricaded  with  cars  turned  sidewise.  General 
Ogden  commanded  the  citizens  and  superintended  these  ar 
rangements.  Five  hundred  Metropolitans,  with  cavalry  and 
artillery,  took  their  station  at  the  head  of  Canal  Street,  while 
General  Longstreet,  their  leader,  rode  up  and  down  Canal 
Street  calling  upon  the  armed  citizens  to  disperse.  About  4 
P.M.  the  Metropolitans  assaulted  the  citizens'  position.  A 
sharp  fight  ensued.  General  Ogden's  horse  was  shot  under 
him,  as  was  General  Badger's,  on  the  Kellogg  side.  The  col 
ored  Metropolitans  broke  at  the  first  fire,  deserting  their  white 
comrades.  The  citizens'  victory  was  soon  complete,  General 
Longstreet  and  others  seeking  refuge  in  the  Custom-house. 
Next  morning,  at  seven,  the  State-house  was  in  the  citizens' 
hands;  two  hours  later  the  whole  Metropolitan  force  surren 
dered.  The  barricades  were  torn  down  and  street-cars  re 
sumed  their  trips. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Penn  hastened  to  assure  the  blacks 
that  no  harm  was  meant  toward  them,  their  property,  or  their 
rights.  "We  war,"  said  he,  "only  against  the  thieves,  plun 
derers,  and  spoilers  of  the  State."  All  the  morning  Perm's 
residence  was  filled  with  congratulatory  crowds.  Throughout 
Louisiana  the  coup  d'etat  roused  delirious  enthusiasm.  At  the 
same  time  leading  citizens  counseled  moderation,  especially 
urging  that  no  violence  toward  colored  people  should  be  per 
mitted.  Penn,  in  a  speech,  said:  "If  you  have  any  af- 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       141 

fection  for  me,  if  you  have  any  regard  for  me,  if  you 
have  any  respect  for  me,  as  I  believe  you  have,  for 
God's  sake  and  my  sake  do  nothing  to  tarnish  the  fair 
fame  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  or  to  diminish  the  victory  you 
have  achieved."  The  Mayor's  proclamation  ran:  "Let  me 
advise  extreme  moderation;  resume  your  vocations  as  soon 
as  dismissed.  Seek  no  revenge  for  past  injuries,  but  leave 
your  fallen  enemies  to  the  torture  of  their  own  consciences  and 
to  the  lasting  infamy  which  their  acts  have  wrought  for  them." 
No  deeds  of  violence  were  reported,  though  McEnery's  offi 
cials  were  installed  all  over  the  State.  About  2  P.M.,  as  three 
thousand  of  General  Ogden's  militia  marched  past  the  Cus 
tom-house,  the  United  States  troops  gathered  in  the  windows, 
took  off  their  hats  and  gave  the  citizens  three  hearty  cheers, 
which  wrere  returned.  At  3  P.M.  ten  thousand  unarmed  citi 
zens,  preceded  by  a  band  of  music,  escorted  Penn  to  the  State- 
house. 

The  triumph  was  short-lived.  The  resort  to  arms  dis 
pleased  President  Grant.  He  commanded  the  insurgents  to 
disperse  in  five  days — half  the  time  he  had  allowed  in  Arkan 
sas  and  one-fourth  the  time  he  had  allowed  in  his  Louisiana 
proclamation  of  1873.  Troops  and  men-of-war  were  ordered 
to  New  Orleans,  and  General  Emory  was  instructed  under  no 
circumstances  to  recognize  the  Penn  government.  A  Cabinet 
meeting  concluded  that  "it  was  important  to  adopt  measures 
for  maintaining,  if  not  the  de  jure,  at  least  the  de  facto  gov 
ernment  in  Louisiana."  Attorney-General  Williams  com 
pared  the  case  with  that  of  Arkansas,  where,  he  confessed,  he 
always  believed  Brooks  had  a  majority,  but  said :  "The  ques 
tion  is  not  who  ought  to  be  Governor,  but  who  is."  Emory  re 
ceived  positive  directions  to  recognize  the  Kellogg  government, 
and  on  the  next  day  Kellogg  was  induced  to  venture  from  his 
asylum  and  resume  his  office.  Not  all  the  McEnery  officials 
were  turned  out,  as  several  of  the  Kellogg  placemen  had  fled 
upon  the  news  of  Penn's  success  and  could  not  be  found.  The 
new  city  police,  under  Mr.  Boylan,  a  well-known  detective, 
were  retained,  owing  to  the  demoralization  of  the  Metropoli- 


142  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tans.  Eor  a  time  United  States  soldiers  were  employed  on 
police  duty.  On  an  election  day  as  much,  as  six  weeks  later, 
to  remove  apprehension  caused  by  the  inefficiency  of  the  Met 
ropolitans,  a  detail  of  the  McEnery  militia  was  made  to  pre 
serve  the  peace  at  each  polling-place. 

McEnery  andPenn  advised  cheerful  submission,  and  while 
surrendering  the  State-house  to  Colonel  Brooks  showed  him 
every  courtesy.  The  only  excess  reported  was  an  unsuccess 
ful  attack  by  negroes  upon  Bayou  Sara.  In  answer  to  Attor 
ney-General  Williams's  pronunciamento  Penn  asserted  that 
the  McEnery  government  had  been  organized  ever  since  1872  ; 
that  McEnery's  armed  supporters  were  not  insurgents,  but 
militia ;  that  the  sole  reason  why  the  McEnery  government 
was  not  de  facto  in  function  in  the  whole  State  was  that  it 
was  overpowered  by  the  United  States  forces,  but  for  which 
it  could  assert  its  authority  and  would  be  universally  obeyed. 
The  Kellogg  government,  he  said,  could  be  placed  and  kept 
in  power  by  the  United  States  army,  but  in  no  other  way 
whatever.  "Is  this,"  he  asked,  "the  republican  form  of 
government  guaranteed  to  every  State  under  the  Consti 
tution  ?" 

Happily  the  army  had  no  command  to  repress  free  speech, 
which  was  usefully  employed  in  appeals  to  the  country.  Some 
of  these  papers  were  written  with  unusual  clearness  and  force. 
Besides  describing  anew  the  corruptions  already  alluded  to, 
they  accused  the  Kellogg  faction  of  altering  the  registration 
laws  in  its  own  interest.  "Many  white  citizens  clearly  entitled 
to  registry  were  refused  arbitrarily,  while  the  colored  people 
were  furnished  registration  papers  on  which,  in  many  in 
stances,  they  could  vote  in  different  wards ;  and  colored  crews 
of  steamboats  transiently  visiting  this  port  were  permitted  to 
swell  the  number  of  voters."  The  White  League,  which,  out 
side  New  Orleans,  seems  not  to  have  been  an  armed  body,  was 
declared  a  necessary  measure  of  defence  against  a  formidable 
oath-bound  order  of  blacks. 

Governor  Kellogg  sought  to  explain  the  uprising.  He 
said:  "They  first  want  the  offices,  and  that  is  the  meaning 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       143 

of  this  outburst.  The  Governor  of  Louisiana  wields  an  enor 
mous  amount  of  patronage,  for  which  McEnery  and  his 
friends  hunger."  However,  at  his  instance  an  Advisory 
Board,  consisting  of  two  men  from  each  party  and  an  umpire 
chosen  by  them,  was  arranged  to  supervise  and  carry  on  the 
registration  for  the  next  election.  Though  perhaps  honestly 
conceived,  this  plan  amounted  to  little.  About  the  middle  of 
October  the  umpire  resigned,  and  the  functions  of  the  Board 
virtually  came  to  an  end.  Further,  the  Conservatives  were 
to  cause  all  violence  to  cease,  and  were  permitted  to  fill  two 
vacancies  on  the  Returning  Board  created  by  resignation  for 
this  purpose. 

The  election  of  November,  1874,  was  quiet.  Indications 
seemed  to  point  to  Democratic  success.  A  break  in  the  colored 
vote  was  foreshadowed,  among  other  things,  by  an  address  of 
leading  colored  men  in  New  Orleans,  setting  forth  that  the 
Republican  party  in  the  State  had,  since  reconstruction,  been 
managed  and  controlled  by  men  in  all  respects  as  bad  as  "the 
most  rampant  White  Leaguer,"  that  they  had  shut  out  the 
colored  wealth  and  intelligence  and  put  in  office  "illiterate 
and  unworthy  colored  men."  The  colored  people,  it  said, 
"are  ready  to  adopt  any  honorable  adjustment  tending  to  har 
monize  the  races/'  to  further  law  and  order  and  a  higher 
standard  of  administration  in  public  offices. 

Of  course  the  Returning  Board  played  an  important  part 
in  this  election.  One  example  will  illustrate  its  methods. 
The  parish  of  Rapides  chose  three  legislators.  The  United 
States  Supervisor  certified  that  the  election  was  in  all  re 
spects  full,  fair,  and  free.  In  the  parish  itself  no  one  knew 
that  any  contest  existed.  At  one  of  its  last  sittings  the  Board, 
upon  an  affidavit  of  its  President,  Wells,  alleging  intimida 
tion,  counted  in  all  three  Republicans.  This,  like  other  acts 
of  the  kind,  was  done  in  secret  or  "executive"  session.  The 
Counsel  of  the  Democratic  Committee  declared  that  they  had 
no  chance  to  answer.  It  came  out  that  Wells  was  not  present 
at  Rapides,  and  he  declined,  though  given  the  opportunity,  to 
explain  to  the  Congressional  Committee  his  action.  The  Rap- 


144  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ides  change  alone  sufficed  to  determine  the  complexion  of  the 
Lower  House. 

After  recounting  instances  of  illegal  action  and  fraud  on 
the  part  of  the  Returning  Board,  the  Inspecting  Committee 
appealed  to  the  nation :  "We,  the  downtrodden  people  of  once 
free  Louisiana,  now  call  upon  the  people  of  the  free  States 
of  America,  if  you  would  yourselves  remain  free  and  retain 
the  right  of  self-government,  to  demand  in  tones  that  can  not 
be  misunderstood  or  disregarded,  that  the  shackles  be  stricken 
from  Louisiana,  and  that  the  power  of  the  United  States  army 
may  no  longer  be  used  to  keep  a  horde  of  adventurers  in 
power." 

Toward  the  end  of  1874,  the  Returning  Board  completed 
its  labors.  It  gave  the  treasury  to  the  Republicans,  and  al 
lowed  them  a  majority  of  two  in  the  Legislature,  five  seats 
being  left  open.  These  changes  from  the  face  of  the  returns 
were  made  on  the  ground  of  alleged  fraud,  intimidation,  or 
other  irregularity  at  the  polls,  or  in  making  the  returns.  The 
Board  dismissed  as  preposterous  all  complaints  of  intimida 
tion  by  United  States  soldiery,  though  at  least  one  case  is 
reported  of  a  Federal  officer  making  out  affidavits  against  citi 
zens,  and  arresting  them  upon  these  affidavits.  He  was 
stopped  later  by  orders  from  his  superior. 

The  Congressional  Investigating  Committee,  composed  of 
two  Republicans  and  one  Democrat,  after  citing  three  or  four 
instances  of  fraud  on  the  part  of  the  Returning  Board,  unani 
mously  found  itself  "constrained  to  declare  that  the  action  of 
the  Returning  Board  on  the  whole  was  arbitrary,  unjust,  and 
illegal;  and  that  this  arbitrary,  unjust,  and  illegal  action 
alone  prevented  the  return  of  a  majority  of  the  Conserva tive 
members  to  the  Lower  House." 

A  few  days  before  the  assembling  of  the  Legislature  one 
of  the  Republican  members  was  arrested  and  confined  till 
after  the  opening.  The  Conservatives  alleged  that  this  was 
for  embezzlement;  the  Republicans  charged  that  it  was  for 
political  purposes,  and  that  their  opponents  were  attempting 
to  kidnap  and  even  threatening  to  assassinate  Republican  leg- 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       145 

islators  to  wipe  out  the  majority.  So  threatening  an  aspect  of 
affairs  induced  Grant  to  give  Sheridan  command  of  the  Mili 
tary  Department  of  the  Gulf  in  addition  to  his  own.  Sheridan 
started  on  telegraphic  notice. 

The  Legislature  convened  on  January  4th.  Suppressed 
excitement  could  he  seen  in  every  eye.  Of  the  memorable  and 
unprecedented  events  of  this  day  there  are  four  varying  ac 
counts — General  Sheridan's  statement,  two  reports  to  Con 
gress  by  committees  of.  the  two  political  parties  in  the  Louisi 
ana  House  of  Representatives,  and  a  recital  incorporated 
in  the  Congressional  Committee's  report  above  referred  to. 
The  last,  of  which  we  give  a  resume,  is  the  most  trust 
worthy. 

The  State-house  was  filled  and  surrounded  by  Metro 
politans  and  Federal  soldiers,  and  no  one  permitted  to  enter 
save  by  Governor  Kellogg' s  orders.  At  noon  the  clerk  of  the 
preceding  House,  Mr.  Vigers,  called  the  Assembly  to  order 
and  proceeded  to  call  the  roll.  Fifty  Democrats  and  fifty-two 
Republicans  answered  to  their  names.  Instantly  a  Conserva 
tive  member,  Mr.  Billieu,  nominated  L.  A.  Wiltz  as  tempo 
rary  chairman.  The  clerk  interposed  some  objection,  but 
Mr.  Billieu,  disregarding  him,  hurriedly  put  the  motion  and 
declared  it  carried  upon  a  viva  voce  vote.  Wiltz  sprang  to 
the  platform,  pushed  the  clerk  aside,  and  seized  the  gavel. 
Justice  Houston  then  swore  in  the  members  en  bloc.  In  the 
same  hurried  fashion  a  new  clerk  was  elected,  also  a  sergeant- 
at-arms ;  then,  from  among  gentlemen  who  had  secured  en 
trance  under  one  pretext  or  another,  a  number  of  assistant 
sergeants-at-arms  were  appointed.  These  gentlemen  at  once 
opened  their  coats  and  discovered  each  his  badge  bearing  the 
words  "Assistant  Sergeant-at-Arms."  Protests,  points  of  or 
der,  calls  for  the  yeas  and  nays,  were  overridden.  The  five 
contesting  Democrats  were  admitted  and  sworn  in.  The  Re 
publicans  now  adopted  their  opponents'  tactics.  Some  one 
nominated  Mr.  Lowell  for  temporary  chairman,  and  amid 
great  confusion  declared  him  elected,  but  he  declined  to  serve. 
The  organization  of  the  House  was  completed  by  the  election 
U.  S.  Vol.  8-7 


146  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  Wiltz  as  Speaker.  Several  Republican  members  attempt 
ing  to  leave  were  prevented  by  the  assistant  sergeants-at-arms. 
Pistols  were  displayed,  and  the  disorder  grew  so  great  that 
the  House  requested  Colonel  de  Trobriand,  commanding  the 
forces  at  the  State-house,  to  insist  upon  order  in  the  lobby. 
This  he  did,  and  the  House  proceeded  with  the  election  of 
minor  officers,  uninterrupted  for  an  hour.  At  length  de  Tro- 
briand  received  word  from  Governor  Kellogg,  which  his  gen 
eral  orders  bound  him  to  obey,  to  remove  the  five  members 
sworn  in  who  had  not  been  returned  by  the  Board.  Speaker 
Wiltz  refusing  to  point  them  out,  General  Campbell  did  so, 
and  in  spite  of  protest  they  were  removed  by  Federal  soldiers. 
Wiltz  then  left  the  hall  at  the  head  of  the  Conservative  mem 
bers.  The  Republicans,  remaining,  organized  to  suit  them 
selves. 

General  Sheridan  reported  the  matter  somewhat  differ 
ently.  He  reached  Louisiana  in  no  judicial  frame  of  mind. 
Conservative  chagrin  and  humiliation  often  took  form  in 
foolish  threats,  which  were  at  once  seized  upon  by  the  car 
pet-baggers  and  scalawags  to  fan  his  wrath.  The  very  air 
seemed  to  him  impregnated  with  assassination.  He  sug 
gested  that  Congress  or  the  President  should  declare  the 
"ringleaders  of  the  armed  White  Leagues"  banditti;  he 
could  then  try  them  by  military  commission  and  put  an  end 
to  such  scenes  as  had  occurred.  The  New  Orleans  Cotton 
Exchange,  a  meeting  of  Northern  and  Western  residents 
of  New  Orleans,  and  other  bodies  passed  resolutions  de 
nying  the  correctness  of  Sheridan's  impressions.  In  an  ap 
peal  to  the  American  people  a  number  of  New  Orleans 
clergymen  condemned  the  charges  lodged  by  Sheridan  with 
the  Secretary  of  War  as  "unmerited,  unfounded,  and  er 
roneous.77  General  Sheridan  reiterated  them,  and  accused 
Bishop  Wilmer,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  appeal,  of  having 
admitted  before  the  Congressional  Committee  "that  the  con 
dition  of  affairs  was  substantially  as  bad  as  reported.'7  The 
Bishop  agreed  that  Louisianians  were  more  prone  than 
others  to  acts  of  violence,  saying  "there  is  a  feeling  of  inse- 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TRANSITIONAL  GOVERNMENTS.       147 

curity  here/7  an  expression  which  he  interpreted  as  meaning, 
"no    security  in  the  courts  against  theft. " 

General  Sherman  commented  on  the  case  as  follows: 
"I  have  all  along  tried  to  save  our  officers  and  soldiers  from 
the  dirty  work  imposed  on  them  by  the  city  authorities  of 
the  South ;  and  may  thereby  have  incurred  the  suspicion  of 
the  President  that  I  did  not  cordially  sustain  his  forces.  .  . 
I  have  always  thought  it  wrong  to  bolster  up  weak  State 
governments  by  our  troops.  We  should  keep  the  peace 
always;  but  not  act  as  bailiff  constables  and  catch-thieves; 
that  should  be  beneath  a  soldier's  vocation.  I  knoAV  that  our 
soldiers  hate  "that  kind  of  duty  terribly,  and  not  one  of 
those  officers  but  would  prefer  to  go  to  the  plains  against 
the  Indians,  rather  than  encounter  a  street  mob  or  serve  a 
civil  process.  But  in  our  government  it  is  too  hard  to  stand 
up  in  the  face  of  what  is  apparent,  that  the  present  govern 
ment  ,of  Louisiana  is  not  the  choice  of  the  people,  though  in 
strict  technical  law  it  is  the  State  government." 

Public  opinion  at  the  North  sided  with  the  appellants. 
The  press  gave  a  cry  of  alarm  at  such  military  interference 
in  civil  affairs.  A  stanch  Republican  sheet  uttered  the 
sentiment  of  many  when  it  said,  "Unless  the  Republican 
party  is  content  to  be  swept  out  of  existence  by  the  storm 
of  indignant  protest  arising  against  the  wrongs  of  Louisiana 
from  all  portions  of  the  country,  it  will  see  that  this  most 
shameful  outrage  is  redressed  wholly  and  at  once."  Numer 
ous  indignation  meetings  were  held  in  Northern  cities.  Re 
publicans  like  William  Cullen  Bryant,  William  1L  Evartsr 
Joseph  R.  llawley,  and  Carl  Schurz  openly  condemned  the 
use  which  had  been  made  of  the  troops.  Legislatures  passed 
resolutions  denouncing  it,  and  it  was  understood  that  Fish, 
Bristow  and  Jewell,  of  the  Cabinet,  disapproved.  Yet 
patience  was  urged  upon  the  people  of  Louisiana.  "What 
ever  injustice,"  said  Carl  Schurz,  "you  may  have  to  suffer, 
let  not  a  hand  of  yours  be  lifted,  let  no  provocation  of  in 
solent  power,  nor  any  tempting  opportunity  seduce  you  into 
the  least  demonstration  of  violence.  As  your  cause  is  just, 


148  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

trust  to  its  justice,  for  surely  the  time  can  not  be  far  when 
every  American  who  truly  loves  his  liberty  will  recognize 
the  cause  of  his  own  rights  and  liberties  in  the  cause  of  con 
stitutional  government  in  Louisiana/' 

Under  a  resolution  introduced  by  Mr.  Thurman  the 
Senate  called  upon  President  Grant  for  explanation.  A 
special  message  was  the  response,  defending  the  end  which 
had  been  had  in  view  but  really  leaving  undefended  the 
means  employed.  Early  in  1875  a  second  committee,  George 
F.  Hoar,  Chairman,  was  appointed  to  investigate  Louisiana 
affairs.  The  result  of  their  labors  was  known  as  the 
"Wheeler  Adjustment/'  which  embraced  on  the  one  hand 
submission  to  the  Kellogg  government,  and  on  the  other 
arbitration  by  the  committee  of  contested  seats  in  the  Legis 
lature.  This  arbitration  seated  twelve  of  the  contestants 
excluded  by  the  Eeturning  Board.  Mr.  Hahn  vacated  the 
Speaker's  chair,  Mr.  Wiltz  withdrew  as  a  candidate  therefor, 
and  Mr.  Estilette,  a  Conservative,  was  elected.  This  settle 
ment  marked  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  carpet-baggery  in 
Louisiana. 


INDIAN   WARS  AND  THE  CUSTER  DEATH. 


CHAPTER    VII 

INDIAN  WARS  AND  THE   CUSTER  DEATH. 

Civilized  Indians  in  1874 — Grant's  Policy  for  the  Wild  Tribes — 
Difficulties  of  the  Indian  Commissioners — Indians'  Wrongs  and 
Discontent — Troubles  in  Arizona — Gov.  Safford's  Declaration — 
Massacre  of  Apaches  in  1871 — Report  of  Federal  Grand  Jury — 
The  Apaches  Subdued — Grievances  of  the  Sioux — The  Modoc 
War  and  Gen.  Canby's  Death — Troubles  in  1874— The  Mill  River 
Disaster  in  Massachusetts — The  Sioux  Rebellion — The  Army's 
Plan  of  Campaign — Ouster's  Part — His  Death — How  the  Battle 
Went — "Revenge  of  Rain-in-the-Face" — Custer  Criticised — And 
Defended. 

EARNESTLY  as  President  Grant  strove  to  improve  the  In 
dian  service  it  was  no  credit  to  the  nation  during  his  term. 
In  1874  the  Indian  Territory  contained  not  far  from  90,000 
civilized  Indians.  The  Cherokees,  17,000  strong  and  in 
creasing,  who  had  moved  hither  from  Alabama,  Tennessee, 
and  Georgia,  now  possessed  their  own  written  language,  con 
stitution,  laws,  judges,  courts,  churches,  schools,  and  acade 
mies,  including  three  schools  for  their  former  negro  slaves. 
They  had  500  frame  and  3,500  log  houses.  They  yearly 
raised  much  live-stock,  3,000,000  bushels  of  corn,  with  enor 
mous  crops  of  wheat,  potatoes  and  oats — an  agricultural 
product  greater  than  New  Mexico's  and  Utah's  combined. 
Similarly  advanced  were  the  Choctaws,  with  17,000  people 
and  forty-eight  schools;  the  Creeks,  with  13,000  people  and 
thirty  schools;  and  the  Seminoles,  General  Jackson's  old  foes, 
having  2,500  people  and  four  schools. 

These  facts  inspired  the  President  with  a  desire  to  im 
prove  the  wilder  tribes.  Deeming  clemency  and  justice, 
with  firmness,  certain  to  effect  this,  he  proposed  to  transfer 
the  Indian  bureau  to  the  War  Department;  but  Congress, 
army  officers,  and  the  Indians  themselves,  opposed.  He  then 
gave  the  supervision  of  Indian  affairs  to  a  Commission  made 


150  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED  STATES. 

up  from  certain  religious  bodies.  This  kindly  policy  being 
announced,  two  powerful  Indian  delegations,  one  of  them 
headed  by  Red  Cloud,  the  Sioux  chief,  visited  the  Great 
Father  at  Washington,  evidently  determined  henceforth  to 
keep  the  peace. 

Few  of  the  wild  Indians  did  this,  however.  Perhaps 
only  the  Apaches,  always  our  most  troublesome  wards,  have 
ever  pursued  murder  and  rapine  out  of  pure  wantonness ;  yet 
most  of  the  red  men  still  remained  savages,  ready  for  the 
war-path  on  slight  provocation.  If  the  frontier  view — no 
good  Indian  but  a  dead  one — is  severe,  many  Eastern  peo 
ple  were  hardly  less  extreme  in  the  degree  of  nobility  with 
which  their  imagination  invested  the  aborigines.  Moreover, 
despite  the  Commission's  exertions,  the  Indian  service, 
though  its  cost  increased  from  three  and  a  quarter  million  irn 
1866  to  nearly  seven  million  in  1874,  sank  in  character. 
The  Commissioners  were  partly  ignored,  partly  subjected  to 
needless  embarrassment  in  their  work.  Members  of  the  In 
dian  Ring  secured  positions  and  contracts  in  preference  to 
people  recommended  by  the  Commission,  and  the  Interior 
Department  often  paid  bills  expressly  disallowed  by  the  Com 
mission,  which  was  charged  with  the  auditing. 

Contractors  systematically  swindled  the  Indians.  Pro 
fessor  Marsh,  of  Yale  University,  wishing  to  engage  in  scien 
tific  research  upon  Red  Cloud's  Reservation,  that  chief 
while  protecting  his  life,  forbade  him  to  trespass  till  he 
promised  to  show  the  Great  Father  samples  of  the  wretched 
rations  furnished  his  tribe.  "I  thought,"  naively  confessed 
the  chief,  "that  he  would  throw  them  away  before  he  got 
there."  But  the  "man  who  came  to  pick  up  bones"  was 
better  than  his  word.  He  exhibited  the  specimens  to  the 
President,  who  was  deeply  incensed  and  declared  that  justice 
should  be  done.  Marsh  drew  up  ten  specific  charges,  to  the 
effect  that  the  agent  was  incompetent  and  guilty  of  gross 
frauds,  that  the  number  of  Indians  was  overstated  to  the 
Department,  and  that  the  amount  of  food  and  clothing  act 
ually  furnished  them  was  insufficient  and  of  wretched  qual- 


INDIAN  WARS   AND  THE   OUSTER  DEATH.  151 

ity.  Army  testimony  was  of  like  tenor.  "The  poor 
wretches/'  said  one  officer,  "'have  been  several  times  this 
winter  on  the  verge  of  starvation  owing  to  the  rascality  of 
the  Indian  Ring.  They  have  been  compelled  to  eat  dogs, 
wolves,  and  ponies."  It  was  urged  in  excuse  that  the  sup 
ply-wagons  had  been  delayed  by  snow.  March  18,  1875, 
General  Sherman  wrote  from  St.  Louis:  "To-morrow  Gen 
erals  Sheridan  and  Pope  will  meet  here  to  discuss  the  Indian 
troubles.  We  could  settle  them  in  an  hour,  but  Congress 
wants  the  patronage  of  the  Indian  bureau,  and  the  bureau 
wants  the  appropriations  without  any  of  the  trouble  of  the 
Indians  themselves." 

The  Indians'  discontent  was  intensified  by  the  progress 
ive  invasion  of  their  preserves  by  white  men,  often  as  law 
less  as  the  worst  Indians,  and  invariably  bringing  intemper 
ance  and  licentiousness.  Frontiersmen  looked  jealously  at 
the  unimproved  acres  of  the  reservations  as  an  Eden  which 
they  were  forbidden  to  enter,  while  a  horde  of  thriftless  sav 
ages  were  in  idle  possession.  Violence  against  the  red  men 
seemed  justifiable  and  was  frequent. 

The  first  troubles  were  in  Arizona.  In  1871  the  Legis 
lature  of  the  Territory,  seconded  by  the  California  Legisla 
ture,  prayed  Congress  for  protection.  Affidavits  were  sub 
mitted  declaring  that  within  two  years  166  persons  had  been 
killed,  801  horses  and  mules  and  2,437  cattle  killed  or  stolen. 
In  November  Governor  A.  P.  K.  Saiford  gave  out  an  impas 
sioned  letter,  of  which  we  reproduce  the  substance.  He 
said  that  with  natural  resources  unsurpassed,  with  gold  and 
silver  mines  that  ought  to  be  yielding  annually  $20,000,000, 
the  people  of  his  Territory  were  in  poverty,  and  had  under 
gone  for  years  scenes  of  death  and  torture  unparalleled  in 
the  settlement  of  our  new  countries.  Instead  of  receiving 
sympathy  and  encouragement  from  their  countrymen  they 
were  denounced  as  border  ruffians,  though  nowhere  were 
the  laws  more  faithfully  obeyed  or  executed  than  in  Arizona. 
In  but  one  instance  had  the  people  taken  the  law  into  their 
own  hands.  That,  as  the  facts  showed,  was  done  under  the 


152  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

most  aggravating  circumstances.  In  the  possession  of  the 
Indians  killed  was  found  property  belonging  to  men  and 
women  who  had  been  murdered  while  the  Indians  were  fed 
at  Camp  Grant.  For  this  attack  on  the  red  men  the  whites 
were  indicted  by  a  grand  jury,  showing  that  Arizona  courts 
and  judges  did  not  screen  any.  The  Territory  was  out  of 
debt,  and  was  soon  to  have  a  free  school  in  every  district, 
indicating  the  law-abiding  character  of  the  population;  yet 
men  who  were  making  money  at  the  cost  of  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  Arizona  people  denounced  them  as  every 
thing  bad,  and  represented  the  Apache  Indians,  who  had 
for  four  hundred  years  lived  by  murder  and  robbery,  as 
paragons  of  moral  excellence.  The  people  of  Arizona  wanted 
peace  and  cared  not  how  it  was  obtained;  but  they  knew 
by  years  of  experience  that  to  feed  Indians  and  let  them 
roam  over  large  tracts  of  land  simply  placed  them  in  a  secure 
position  to  raid  the  settlers  and  return  to  their  reservations 
for  safety  and  rest.  Though  possessing  one  of  the  richest 
Territories,  all  the  Arizonians  felt  discouraged.  At  least  five 
hundred  had  been  killed,  a  large  number  of  these  horribly 
tortured.  Those  left,  after  fighting  for  years  to  hold  the 
country,  found  themselves  in  poverty  and  looked  upon  as 
barbarians.  General  Crook  struck  the  keynote  when  he  en 
listed  Indians  against  Indians.  It  threw  consternation  among 
them  such  as  was  never  seen  before.  Had  he  been  allowed 
to  pursue  this  policy  it  would  have  taken  but  a  few  months 
to  conquer  a  lasting  peace.  But  Peace  Commissioner  Colyer 
had  countermanded  the  order  and  millions  would  have  to 
be  expended  and  hundreds  of  lives  lost  before  the  end  could 
be  reached. 

The  massacre  of  Indians  referred  to  by  Governor  Saf- 
ford  occurred  in  April,  1871.  A  few  hundred  Apaches  had 
been  gathered  at  Camp  Grant,  being  fed  on  condition  of 
keeping  the  peace,  which  condition  seemed  to  have  been 
broken.  A  party  of  whites  with  a  hundred  Papago  Indians 
fell  upon  the  Indian  camp,  killed  eighty-five  men  and  women, 
and  carried  away  twenty-eight  children  as  prisoners.  A  Fed- 


INDIAN  WARS  AND   THE   OUSTER  DEATH.  153 

eral  grand  jury  which  found  indictments  against  several  of 
the  attacking  party  reported  upon  a  number  of  important 
points.  They  found  that  the  hostile  Indians  in  the  Territory, 
led  by  many  different  chiefs,  generally  adopted  the  policy 
of  making  the  point  where  the  Indians  were  fed  the  base  of 
their  supplies  of  ammunition,  guns,  and  recruits  for  their 
raids,  each  hostile  chief  usually  drawing  warriors  from  other 
bands  when  he  undertook  an  important  raid,  whether  upon 
Arizona  citizens  or  upon  the  neighboring  State  of  Sonora, 
where  they  were  continually  making  depredations.  "With 
few  marked  exceptions  the  habit  of  drunkenness  prevailed 
among  the  officers  at  Camps  Grant,  Goodwin,  and  Apache, 
where  the  Apache  Indians  were  fed.  The  rations  issued  to 
the  Indians  at  these  camps  were  frequently  insufficient  for 
their  support;  also  unjustly  distributed.  Bones  were  some 
times  issued  instead  of  meat.  One  United  States  quartermas 
ter  acknowledged  that  he  had  made  a  surplus  of  twelve 
thousand  pounds  of  corn  in  issuing  rations  to  the  Indians  at 
Camp  Goodwin.  An  officer  commanding  at  Camp  Apache, 
besides  giving  liquor  to  the  Apache  Indians,  got  beastly 
drunk  with  them  from  whiskey  belonging  to  the  United 
States  Hospital  Department.  Another  United  States  Army 
officer  gave  liquor  to  Indians  at  the  same  camp.  United 
States  Army  officers  at  those  camps  where  the  Indians  were 
fed  habitually  used  their  official  position  to  break  the  chas 
tity  of  the  Indian  women.  The  regulations  of  Camp  Grant, 
with  the  Apache  Indians  on  the  reservation,  were  such  that 
the  whole  body  of  Indians  might  leave  the  reservation  and 
be  gone  many  days  without  the  knowledge  of  the  command 
ing  officer.  In  conclusion  this  United  States  grand  jury 
reported  that  five  hundred  of  their  neighbors,  friends,  and 
fellow-citizens  had  fallen  by  the  murdering  hand  of  the 
Apache  Indians,  clothing  in  the  garb  of  mourning  family 
circles  in  many  hamlets,  towns,  and  cities  of  different  States. 
"This  blood,"  they  said,  "cried  from  the  ground  to  the 
[American  people  for  justice — justice  to  all  men." 

Pacific  overtures  and  presents  were  made  to  the  Indians 


154  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

by  Peace  Commissioner  Colyer,  but  his  efforts  were  un 
popular  and  proved  futile.  By  the  severer  policy  which  the 
whites  urged  and  by  pitting  friendly  Indians  against  them, 
the  Apaches  were  at  last  subdued  and  kept  thenceforth  under 
strict  registry  and  surveillance. 

During  the  autumn  of  1874  gold  was  found  in  the  Black 
Hills  Sioux  Reservation,  between  Wyoming  and  what  is  now 
South  Dakota.  General  Sheridan  prohibited  exploration,  but 
gold-seekers  continually  evaded  his  order.  Said  Red  Cloud : 
"The  people  from  the  States  who  have  gone  to  the  Black 
Hills  are  stealing  gold,  digging  it  out  and  taking  it  away, 
and  I  don't  see  why  the  Great  Father  don't  bring  them 
back.  Our  Great  Father  has  a  great  many  soldiers,  and  I 
never  knew  him,  when  he  wanted  to  stop  anything  with  his 
soldiers  but  he  succeeded  in  it."  A  still  worse  grievance 
was  the  destruction  of  buffaloes  by  hunters  and  excursion 
ists.  Thousands  of  the  animals  were  slaughtered  for  their 
hides,  which  fell  in  price  from  three  dollars  each  to  a  dollar. 
In  one  locality  were  to  be  counted  six  or  seven  thousand 
putrefying  carcasses.  Hunters  boasted  of  having  killed  two 
thousand  head  apiece  in  one  season.  Railroads  ran  excur 
sion  trains  of  amateur  hunters,  who  shot  their  victims  from 
the  car  windows.  The  creatures  were  at  last  wellnigh  ex 
terminated,  so  that  in  1894  buffalo  robes  cost  in  New  York 
from  $75  to  $175  each. 

Rasped  to  frenzy  in  so  many  ways,  tribe  after  tribe  of 
savages  resolutely  took  up  arms.  The  Klamath  Indians  and 
the  Modocs,  hereditary  enemies,  were  shortly  after  the  Civil 
War  placed  upon  a  common  reservation  in  Oregon.  The 
Modocs,  suffering  many  annoyances  from  the  Klamaths,  and 
indulging  in  some  retaliation,  were  at  last  permitted,  leaving 
their  uncongenial  corral,  to  roam  abroad.  Captain  JacK 
headed  the  seceders,  who  were  believed  by  many  to  have 
been  for  the  most  part  inoffensive.  Among  them,  however, 
eight  or  ten  turbulent  spirits,  led  by  Curly-headed  Doctor, 
were  accused  of  such  depredations  that  a  new  superintendent, 
appearing  in  1872,  made  unfavorable  report  of  the  whole 


INDIAN   WARS  AND  THE  CUSTER  DEATH.  155 

wandering  tribe,  and  recommended  what  General  E.  R.  S. 
.Canby,  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  dep 
recated,  a  resort  to  force  to  bring  them  back  to  their  reserva 
tion.  Surprised  in  camp  at  gray  dawn  of  November  29,  1872, 
the  chiefs  refused  to  surrender  and  escaped,  leaving  eight  or 
nine  dead  warriors,  and  killing  or  wounding  about  the  same 
number  of  soldiers,  besides  three  citizen  auxiliaries.  Curly- 
headed  Doctor's  band  now  went  upon  the  warpath,  killing 
eighteen  men,  though  sparing  all  women  and  children.  While 
Captain  Jack  and  his  faction  had  no  hand  in  this,  the  two 
chiefs,  with  about  50  warriors  and  175  camp  followers, 
united  for  defence  in  the  Lava  Beds,  or  "pedregal,"  of 
northern  California,  over  which  rocks  of  all  shapes  and 
sizes  lay  where  the  last  ancient  volcanic  eruption  left  them, 
presenting  crevices,  chasms,  and  subterranean  passages  in 
numerable,  with  occasional  verdant  patches  of  an  acre  or 
two.  Against  these  hostiles  were  sent  400  soldiers  and  a 
battery  of  howitzers.  After  nearly  a  month  of  preparation 
and  skirmishes,  on  the  17th  of  January,  1873,  300  soldiers 
with  twenty  scouts  entered  the  "pedregal."  The  stumbling 
advance  exposed  not  a  redskin,  but  man  after  man  fell  as 
the  cracks  and  crannies  of  the  gray  rocks  above  them  kept 
spitting  spiteful  pufYs  of  smoke.  At  night,  thirty  having 
been  wounded  and  ten  killed,  they  retreated,  and  Colonel 
"Wheaton,  commanding,  asked  for  300  more  men  and  four 
mortars.  Meantime  the  Modocs,  by  capture  or  otherwise, 
secured  guns,  ammunition,  and  perhaps  some  reinforcements. 
!N~ow  two  Peace  Commissioners,  succeeding  each  other, 
endeavored  in  vain  to  induce  the  Indians  to  remove  to  a 
reservation  in  Arizona  or  the  Indian  Territory,  far  from 
the  persecutions  of  the  Klamaths  and  from  the  vengeance 
of  Oregon  whites.  The  eight  or  ten  most  desperate  Modocs, 
known  as  "the  murderers/'  urged  the  continuance  of  the 
war.  Lest  his  tribal  kindred  should  be  betrayed  to  the  hang 
man  or  some  other  treachery  practiced,  Captain  Jack  wished 
the  soldiers  sent  away  and  the  Lava  Beds  made  a  reserva 
tion.  Finding  that  neither  of  these  dangerous  boons  ^ould  bo 


156  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

granted,  lie  began  to  lend  ear  to  his  tempters,  who  sur 
rounded  him  as  he  sat  despondent  on  a  rock.  Hooker  Jim 
said:  "You  are  like  an  old  squaw;  you  have  never  done  any 
fighting.  You  are  not  fit  to  be  a  chief."  In  like  strain 
George :  "What  do  you  want  with  a  gun  ?  You  don't  shoot 
anything  with  it.  You  don't  go  any  place  or  do  anything. 
You  are  sitting  around  on  the  rocks."  Scar-faced  Charley 
took  up  the  taunt:  "I  am  going  with  Hooker  Jim.  I  can 
fight  with  him.  You  are  nothing  but  an  old  squaw."  They 
decked  him  with  a  squaw's  dress  and  bonnet  and  further 
jeered  him.  Thus  stirred,  the  savage  in  Captain  Jack  tri 
umphed.  He  turned  on  them  and  cried :  "I  will  show  you 
that  I  am  no  squaw.  "We  will  have  war,  and  Keint-poos  will 
not  be  the  one  to  ask  for  peace."  It  is  recorded  of  Captain 
Jack  that  subsequently,  with  Scar-faced  Charley,  he  all  night 
watched  over  a  white  emissary,  an  old-time  friend  of  the 
tribe,  to  prevent  his  murder  by  the  Indians.  Upon  return 
ing  he  assured  the  Commissioners  that  the  Modocs  meant 
treachery.  The  interpreter's  squaw  wife,  Toby,  also  warned 
them,  being  herself  told  by  Modoc  "Whim"  to  keep  away 
and  to  keep  the  Commissioners  away.  A  parley  appointed 
for  April  8th  fell  through  because  of  the  timely  discovery 
of  an  Indian  ambush.  Nevertheless,  when  Bogus  Charley 
came  and  proposed  at  the  council  tent  near  the  edge  of  the 
"pedregal"  an  unarmed  conference  of  the  Commissioners 
and  General  Canby  with  an  equal  number  of  Modocs,  say 
ing  that  after  this  they  would  surrender,  General  Canby 
and  Dr.  Thomas,  of  the  Commission,  thought  that  the  im 
portance  of  the  object  justified  the  risk.  The  scout  Riddle, 
as  well  as  Meacham  and  Dyar,  the  other  Peace  Commis 
sioners,  urged  that  it  was  a  hazardous  enterprise,  but  all 
three  said  they  would  go  rather  than  be  chargeable  with 
cowardice.  Before  starting,  Meacham  and  Dyar  provided 
themselves  with  pocket  pistols,  gave  up  their  valuables  to 
a  friend,  and  indicated  their  last  wishes. 

The  embassy  took  seats  on  stones  around  a  small  fire  of 
brush.     Only  Dr.  Thomas  reclined  on  the  ground.     Captain 


INDIAN    WARS  AND  THE   CUSTER  DEATH.  157 

Jack  made  a  speech.  As  he  closed,  Hooker  Jim  took  Meach- 
ain's  overcoat  and  put  it  on,  insolently  remarking,  "I  am 
Meacham."  Meacham  said:  "Take  my  hat,  too."  "I  will, 
presently,7'  was  the  response,  in  Modoc.  Perceiving  that 
treachery  was  contemplated,  General  Canby  told  how  he  had 
earned  the  name  of  "the  Indian's  friend/'  expressing  hope 
that  the  Modocs,  as  others  had  done,  would  some  day  thank 
him  for  getting  them  happy  homes.  He  could  not  send  away 
the  Great  Father's  soldiers,  but  what  the  Commissioners 
promised  should  be  done,  and  the  citizens  should  not  inter 
fere.  Dr.  Thomas,  too,  rising  to  his  knees,  with  head  un 
covered  and  with  his  hand  on  Meacham's  shoulder,  said:  "I 
believe  the  Great  Spirit  put  it  into  the  heart  of  the  President 
to  send  us  here  to  make  peace.  I  have  known  General  Canby 
fourteen  years,  Mr.  Meacham  eighteen  years,  and  Mr.  Dyar 
four  years.  I  know  their  hearts  are  good,  and  I  know  my 
own  heart.  We  want  no  more  war.  I  believe  that  God  sees 
what  we  do ;  that  he  wishes  us  all  to  be  at  peace ;  that  no 
more  blood  should  be  shed."  Captain  Jack  said  he  did  not 
wish  to  leave  that  country  for  a  strange  one.  "Jack,"  said 
Meacham,  "let  us  talk  like  men  and  not  like  children.  You 
are  a  man  that  has  common-sense ;  isn't  there  any  other  place 
that  will  do  you  except  Willow  Creek  and  Cottonwood  ?" 
Here,  while  Jack  stepped  back  to  the  horses,  Sconchin  broke 
in :  "Give  us  Hot  Creek  for  a  home,  and  take  away  your  sol 
diers,"  repeating,  excitedly,  "Take  away  the  soldiers  and 
give  us  Hot  Creek,  or  stop  talking."  Just  then  two  Indians 
with  three  guns  apiece  came  running  from  their  hiding-place 
not  far  off.  Steamboat  Frank  and  a  third  brave  also  soon 
appeared.  "What  does  this  mean,  Captain  Jack  ?"  said  some 
one.  The  chief,  close  to  Canby,  leveled  his  revolver,  said 
"Atwe"  "all  ready,"  and  pressed  the  trigger.  The  cap 
snapped.  In  an  instant  he  cocked  it  again  and  fired.  Can- 
by  fell,  struck  under  the  eye.  Boston  Charley  shot  Dr. 
Thomas  in  the  left  breast.  He  rose  and  ran,  but  Bogus 
Charley  finished  the  work  with  a  rifle  ball.  Sconchin  missed 
Meacham,  who  ran,  drew  his  pistol  and  fired  back,  but  soon 


158  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

fell  senseless  with  a  bullet  in  his  head.  General  Canby  re 
covered  his  footing  and  sought  to  flee.  Ellen's  Man  brought 
him  to  the  earth,  while  Jack  despatched  him  with  a  stab  in 
the  neck.  Pressed  by  Hooker  Jim,  Dyar  faced  about  with 
his  pistol  and  the  redskin  fled.  Riddle,  the  interpreter, 
hounded  by  three,  managed  to  escape  with  a  mere  scratch. 
His  wife,  Toby,  was  struck  down,  but  her  life  was  spared. 
As  the  murderers  proceeded  to  the  usual  savage  consumma 
tion  of  their  deed,  she  cried  out :  "Soldiers !  soldiers  !"  where 
at  they  fled.  By  this  ruse  did  the  faithful  squaw  save  the 
bodies  from  mutilation. 

At  another  place  Lieutenants  Doyle  and  Sherwood  had 
just  before  been  attacked  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  Sherwood 
mortally  wounded.  The  camp  force,  thus  apprised  of  treach 
ery,  hastened,  too  late,  to  the  scene  of  Canby 's  death.  Only 
Riddle  and  Dyar  reached  their  advancing  lines.  The 
stripped  bodies  of  Canby  and  Thomas  were  first  found. 
!Near  by  lay  Meacham,  also  stripped,  shot  under  his  right 
eye,  in  the  side  of  the  head,  and  through  the  right  arm.  A 
temple  was  grazed,  a  finger  lost,  an  ear  cut,  while  a  long  gash 
gaped  where  Boston  Charley  had  begun  to  scalp  his  victim. 
Meacham  still  breathed,  however,  and,  after  the  bullets  had 
been  extracted,  rapidly  recovered. 

Attack  upon  the  Indians  was  now  begun  in  earnest,  and 
their  stronghold  shelled,  but  in  vain.  Not  till  early  sum 
mer,  when  the  "murderers"  had  rebelled  and  both  factions 
left  the  lava  beds,  Jack  making  for  the  coveted  Willow  Creek, 
seeking,  perhaps,  a  union  with  disaffected  Shoshones,  did 
General  Jefferson  C.  Davis,  who  took  Canby' s  place,  scatter 
and  capture  the  bloody  pack.  The  Modocs  lost  a  few  war 
riors,  besides  women  and  children.  Of  citizens  and  the  mili 
tary  and  Indian  allies,  sixty-five  were  killed,  sixty-three 
wounded.  The  war  cost  half  a  million  dollars.  Captain 
Jack,  Sconchin,  Black  Jim,  Boston  Charley,  One-Eyed  Jim, 
and  Slolox  were  tried  by  a  military  commission  for  murder. 
The  first  four  were  hanged,  the  other  two  imprisoned  for  life 
on  Alcatraz  Island,  San  Francisco  Harbor. 


INDIAN  WARS  AND   THE   OUSTER   DEATH.  159 

The  above  account  of  the  Modoc  War  is  substantially 
that  of  those  inclined  to  lay  the  main  guilt  of  the  uprising 
to  the  whites  and  to  think  well  of  the  Indians.  What  may 
in  a  sense  be  called  the  Oregon  view  differs  from  it  in  cer 
tain  more  or  less  important  particulars,  mainly  (1)  in  ascrib 
ing  the  provocation  to  war  to  the  Modocs  rather  than  to  the 
Klamaths  or  the  whites,  and  to  the  wrhole  of  Jack's  band 
rather  than  to  a  turbulent  part  of  it;  (2)  in  setting  down  as 
foolish  the  efforts  of  peace  men  to  deal  with  savages,  consid 
ering  these  as,  practically  without  exception,  heartless  and 
treacherous. 

The  Cheyennes  and  allied  tribes,  in  reprisal  for  the  loss 
of  their  buffaloes,  made  many  cattle  raids.  In  1874,  the 
settlers  retaliated,  but  were  soon  flying  from  their  farms  in 
panic.  The  Indians,  as  the  papers  had  it,  were  at  once 
"handed  over  to  the  secular  arm,"  the  army  being  set  to  deal 
with  them  instead  of  the  Peace  Commission.  Resistance 
was  brief,  entirely  collapsing,  when  at  one  stroke  sixty-nine 
warriors  and  two  thousand  ponies  were  captured  on  Elk 
Creek.  In  1874,  a  massacre  by  the  Sioux  was  barely  averted. 
The  agent  at  the  Red  Cloud  agency  erected  a  staff,  and,  on 
Sunday,  unfurled  the  national  flag  "to  let  the  Indians  know 
what  day  it  was."  Viewing  the  emblem  as  meaning  hostil 
ity,  the  Sioux  beleaguered  the  agency,  and,  but  for  Sitting 
Bull,  would  have  massacred  all  the  whites  there  as  well  as 
the  handful  of  soldiers  sent  to  their  rescue. 

While  the  catastrophes  just  narrated  were  occurring,  a 
worse  horror  withdrew  public  attention  for  a  moment  from 
the  Indian  hostilities  at  the  remote  West  to  a  far  Eastern 
locality  over  which  King  Philip's  own  braves  had  ranged  in 
the  first  great  Indian  war  of  American  history. 

On  May  16,  1874,  the  rupture  of  a  reservoir  dam  in  the 
town  of  Williamsburg,  Mass.,  caused  a  disastrous  flood,  cost 
ing  140  lives  and  the  loss  of  $1,500,000  in  property.  The 
basin  which  collapsed  was  300  feet  above  the  level  of  Wil 
liamsburg  village,  and  from  three  to  four  miles  further  up 
Mill  River.  It  covered  109  acres  to  a  depth  averaging  24 


160  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

feet,  its  650,000,000  gallons  of  water  forming  a  reserve  sup 
ply  for  the  factories  of  Williamsburg,  Skinnerville,  Hayden- 
ville,  Leeds,  and  Florence.  The  gatekeeper,  one  George 
Cheney,  made  the  tour  of  the  premises  as  usual,  early  on.  the 
fatal  morning,  but  discovered  nothing  out  of  order.  He 
went  home  to  breakfast.  The  meal  was  just  ending  when 
Cheney's  father,  happening  to  glance  through  a  window,  ex 
claimed:  "For  God's  sake,  George,  look  there!"  A  vast 
block,  fifty  feet  long,  was  shooting  out  from  the  bottom  of 
the  dam.  Cheney  was  an  old  soldier  and  had  presence  of 
mind.  Rushing  to  the  gate  he  opened  it  to  its  full  width, 
hoping  thus  to  relieve  the  pressure  at  the  break.  He  then 
made  for  the  barn.  Bridling  his  horse  while  his  father  cut 
him  a  stick,  he  mounted,  just  as  the  whole  dam  gave  way, 
and  dashed  headlong  down  the  valley,  warning  the  popula 
tion  below.  He  covered  the  distance  to  Spellman's  button 
factory,  three  miles  away,  in  fifteen  minutes,  the  thundering 
avalanche  of  waters  close  behind. 

It  was  about  half  after  seven  when  the  brave  herald 
reached  Spellman's,  himself  spent  with  excitement  and  shout 
ing,  his  horse  worsted  in  the  unequal  race.  D.  Collins 
Graves,  a  milkman,  here  took  up  the  news.  Saying,  "If  the 
dam  is  breaking  the  folks  must  know  it,"  he  lashed  his  horse 
at  a  breakneck  pace  to  Haydenville,  shouting:  "The  reser 
voir  is  right  here !  Run !  It's  all  you  can  do !"  Spell- 
man's  factory,  the  first  building  to  test  the  torrent's  power, 
was  tossed  from  its  base  and  dashed  in  pieces  like  a  child's 
block-house.  The  help,  heeding  Cheney's  warning,  sped  to 
the  hills — too  late,  for  many  were  caught  and  borne  down  to 
death.  The  Skinnerville  silk  operatives  had  just  begun  the 
day's  work.  When  the  warning  reached  them  the  superin 
tendent  was  incredulous,  and  only  the  roar  of  the  waters, 
drowning  the  courier's  cry,  wrung  from  him  the  order  to 
quit.  All  hands  dashed  toward  the  high  land,  and  but  three 
were  lost.  Of  these  one  had  hurried  home  to  save  his  fam 
ily,  arriving  just  in  time  to  perish  with  them.  Many  other 
families  were  hurried  to  death  together,  amid  noble  efforts  of 


INDIAN  WARS  AND  THE   OUSTER  DEATH.  161 

the  strong  to  save  the  weak,  whose  groans  and  cries  formed 
an  agonizing  appeal  for  aid.  The  loss  of  life  must  have  been 
far  greater  but  for  Cheney's  and  Graves's  brave  riding. 

Many  hair-breadth  escapes  occurred,  accounts  of  which, 
related  afterward,  sounded  like  miracle  stories.  One  man 
sailed  half  a  mile  on  the  very  crest  of  the  deluge,  borne 
upon  a  raft  of  debris,  saving  himself  at  last  by  grasping  a 
limb  of  one  of  the  few  trees  stout  enough  to  stem  the  flood. 
Large  parts  of  Williamsburg  and  Skinnerville,  including 
several  mills  and  factories,  were  laid  in  hopeless  ruin.  The 
great  brass  works  at  Haydenville  were  totally  demolished. 
A  couple  of  mill-stones,  weighing  a  ton  each,  were  wafted 
a  distance  of  half  a  mile.  Almost  the  entire  village  of 
Leeds  was  destroyed.  Much  damage  was  done  so  far  down 
as  Florence,  where  vast  fertile  tracks  were  covered  beneath 
feet  of  sand. 

Relief  work  for  the  hundreds  left  homeless  and  destitute 
was  at  once  begun  and  nobly  prosecuted.  Supplies  came 
from  nearly  all  parts  of  Massachusetts  and  from  other 
States.  The  Massachusetts  Legislature  was  in  session  and 
instituted  a  competent  and  searching  investigation  of  the 
accident.  Public  sorrow  turned  to  public  indignation  when 
the  calamity  was  discovered  to  be  due  entirely  to  culpable 
negligence  on  the  part  of  those  originating,  planning,  con 
structing,  and  approving  the  reservoir.  The  wall  of  the 
dam  was  too  weak.  It  was  built  mainly  of  irregular  instead 
of  cut  stone.  Save  at  the  middle,  where  it  was  re-enforced 
by  about  a  foot,  it  was  not  over  5^  feet  thick.  Also  the 
earth  above  the  stone  was  not  properly  placed  or  rammed. 

In  1875,  there  was  pretence  of  investigating  affairs  at 
the  Red  Cloud  post,  but  with  scant  result.  Much  of  the 
testimony  was  by  casual  observers  or  interested  parties,  and 
none  of  it  under  oath.  The  Indians  did  not  testify  freely, 
and  contradicted  each  other ;  Sitting  Bull  told  one  story.  Red 
Cloud  another.  What  became  clear  was  that,  in  Red  Cloud's 
phrase,  the- Indians  were  "succeeding  backward." 

A  large  portion  of  the  Sioux,  under  Sitting  Bull,  had  re- 


162  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

fused  to  enter  into  a  treaty  surrendering  certain  lands  and 
consenting  to  confine  themselves  within  a  new  reservation. 
Notice  was  served  upon  these  non-treaty  Sioux  that,  unless 
they  moved  to  the  reservation  before  January  1,  1876,  they 
would  be  treated  as  hostiles.  Sitting  Bull  refused  to  stir, 
and  early  in  the  spring  the  army  assumed  the  offensive.  The 
chief  chose  his  position  with  rare  skill,  in  the  wild  hunting 
country  of  southern  Montana,  now  Ouster  County,  near  a 
quarter-circle  of  agencies,  whence  wrould  join  him  next  sum 
mer  a  great  troop  of  discontented  and  ambitious  young 
"Reservation"  braves.  The  Bad  Lands  around  made  de 
fence  easy  and  attack  most  arduous. 

It  was  determined  to  close  upon  the  hostiles  in  three  col 
umns,  General  Gibbon  from  the  west,  General  Crook  from 
the  south,  and  General  Terry,  with  a  somewhat  larger  body 
of  troops,  including  the  Seventh  United  States  Cavalry,  six 
hundred  strong,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Custer,  from  the 
east.  Crook  was  delayed  by  unexpected  attacks.  The  other 
two  columns  met  without  interference.  Terry  followed  the 
Yellowstone  up  as  far  as  the  Rosebud,  where  he  established 
a  supply  camp.  Here  Custer  with  his  cavalry  left  him, 
June  22d,  to  make  a  detour  south,  up  the  Rosebud,  get  above 
the  Indians,  and  drive  them  down  the  Little  Big  Horn  into 
the  army's  slowly  closing  grip.  Three  days  later,  June  25th, 
Custer  struck  Sitting  Bull's  main  trail,  and  eagerly  pursued 
it  across  the  divide  into  the  Little  Big  Horn  Valley.  Ex 
pecting  battle,  he  detached  Major  Reno,  with  seven  of  his 
twelve  companies,  to  cross  the  Little  Big  Horn,  descend  it, 
and  strike  the  foe  from  the  west ;  but  Reno  was  soon  attacked 
and  held  at  bay,  being  besieged  in  all  more  than  twenty-four 
hours.  Meantime,  suddenly  coming  upon  the  lower  end  of 
the  Indians'  immense  camp,  the  gallant  Custer  and  his 
braves,  without  an  instant's  hesitation,  advanced  into  the 
jaws  of  death.  That  death  awaited  every  man  was  at  once 
evident,  but  at  the  awful  sensation,  the  sickening  horror  at 
tending  the  realization  of  that  fact,  not  a  soul  wavered. 
Balaklava  was  pastime  to  this,  for  here  not  one  "rode  back." 


INDIAN   WARS  AND  THE  OUSTER  DEATH.  163 

"All  that  was  left  of  them,"  after  perhaps  twenty-five  min 
utes,  was  so  many  mostly  unrecognizable  corpses. 

"Two  hundred  and  sixty-two  were  with  Ouster,  and  two 
hundred  and  sixty-two  died  overwhelmed.  With  the  last 
shot  was  silence.  The  report  might  have  been  written : 
'None  wounded;  none  missing;  all  dead.'  'No  living  tongue 
of  all  that  heroic  band  was  left  to  tell  the  story.  The  mis 
erable  half-breed  scout,  Curley,  who  might  years  later  be 
seen  hanging  around  Fort  Ouster,  claimed  to  have  been  with 
Ouster  when  the  engagement  began,  but  he  pulled  a  Sioux 
blanket  over  his  head,  mingled  with  the  enemy,  and  ran 
away  at  the  first  fire.  He  could  only  tell  that  there  had  been 
a  battle."  "Near  the  high  ground  and  not  far  from  where 
the  Ouster  monument  was  erected,  the  body  of  Kellogg,  spe 
cial  correspondent  of  the  New  York  'Herald,'  was  found. 
He  was  bravely  following  the  gallant  Ouster.  The  guide 
points  out  the  little  wooden  slab  which  marks  the  spot,  for 
he  died  like  a  hero,  too,  in  the  line  of  his  duty." 

After  harassing  Reno,  the  Indians  slipped  off  under 
cover  of  night.  Ascending  the  Big  Horn  and  the  Little 
Big  Horn,  Gibbon  and  Terry,  on  the  27th,  discovered  the 
bodies  of  Ouster  and  his  five  devoted  companies.  Ouster 
alone  was  not  mutilated.  He  had  been  shot  in  the  left  tem 
ple,  the  remainder  of  his  face  wearing  in  death  a  natural 
look.  Years  subsequently  a  careful  survey  of  the  field  and 
talks  with  savages  enabled  Oaptain  Godfrey,  who  was  with 
Reno  on  the  fatal  day,  to  see  what  course  the  Ouster  fight 
had  taken. 

Finding  himself  outnumbered  twelve  or  more  to  one — 
the  Indians  mustered  about  2,500  warriors,  besides  a  caravan 
of  boys  and  squaws — Ouster  had  dismounted  his  heroes,  who, 
planting  themselves  mainly  on  two  hills  some  way  apart,  the 
advance  one  held  by  Ouster,  the  other  by  Captains  Keogh 
and  Calhoun,  prepared  to  sell  their  lives  dearly.  The  red 
skins  say  that  had  Reno  maintained  the  offensive  they  should 
have  fled,  the  chiefs  having,  at  the  first  sight  of  Ouster,  or 
dered  camp  broken  for  this  purpose.  But  when  Reno  drew 


164  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

back  this  order  was  countermanded,  and  the  entire  army  of 
the  savages  was  concentrated  against  the  doomed  Ouster.  By 
waving  blankets  and  uttering  their  hellish  yells,  they  stam 
peded  many  of  the  cavalry  horses,  which  carried  off  precious 
ammunition  in  their  saddle-bags.  Lining  up  just  behind  a 
ridge,  they  would  rise  quickly,  fire  at  the  soldiers,  and  drop, 
exposing  themselves  little,  but  drawing  Ouster's  fire,  so  caus 
ing  additional  loss  of  sorely  needed  bullets.  The  whites' 
ammunition  spent,  the  dismounted  savages  rose,  fired,  and 
whooped  like  the  demons  they  were ;  while  the  mounted  ones, 
lashing  their  ponies,  charged  with  infinite  venom,  overwhelm 
ing  Calhoun  and  Keogh,  and  lastly  Ouster  himself.  Indian 
boys  then  pranced  over  the  fields  on  ponies,  scalping  and  re- 
shooting  the  dead  and  dying.  At  the  burial  many  a  stark 
visage  wore  a  look  of  horror.  "Rain-in-the-Face,"  who  mainly 
inspired  and  directed  the  battle  on  the  Indian  side,  boasted 
that  he  cut  out  and  ate  Captain  Tom  Ouster's  heart.  Most 
believe  that  he  did  so.  "Rain-in-the-Face"  was  badly 
wounded,  and  used  crutches  ever  after.  Brave  Sergeant 
Butler's  body  was  found  by  itself,  lying  on  a  heap  of  empty 
cartridge  shells  which  told  what  he  had  been  about. 

Sergeant  Mike  Madden  had  a  leg  mangled  while  fight 
ing,  tiger-like,  near  Reno,  and  for  his  bravery  was  promoted 
on  the  field.  He  was  always  over-fond  of  grog,  but  long 
abstinence  had  now  intensified  his  thirst.  He  submitted  to 
amputation  without  anaesthesia.  After  the  operation  the  sur 
geon  gave  him  a  stiff  horn  of  brandy.  Emptying  it  eagerly 
and  smacking  his  lips,  he  said:  "M-eh,  Doctor,  cut  off  the 
other  leg." 

This  distressing  catastrophe,  which  whelmed  the  country 
in  grief  many  days,  called  forth  Longfellow's  poem,  "The 
Revenge  of  Rain-in-the-Face,"  ending  with  the  stanza : 

Whose  was  the  right  and  the  wrong? 
Sing  it,  O  funeral  song, 

With  a  voice  that  is  full  of  tears, 
And  say  that  our  broken  faith 
Wrought  all  this  ruin  and  scathe 

In  the  Year  of  a  Hundred  Years. 


INDIAN  WARS   AND  THE  OUSTER  DEATH.  165 

This  poem  mistakenly  represents  "Rain-in-the-Face"  as 
having  mutilated  General  Ouster  instead  of  his  brother,  the 
Captain.  .  Also  it  is  based  on  the  "ambush"  theory  of  the 
battle,  which  at  first  all  shared.  We  now  know,  however, 
that  Ouster  fought  in  the  open,  from  high  ground,  not  in  a 
ravine.  His  surprise  lay  not  in  finding  Indians  before  him, 
but  in  finding  them  so  fatally  numerous.  Some  of  General 
Terry's  friends  charged  Ouster  with  transgressing  his  orders 
in  fighting  as  he  did.  That  he  was  somewhat  careless,  al 
most  rash,  in  his  preparations  to  attack  can  perhaps  be  main 
tained,  though  good  authority  declares  the  "battle  fought 
tactically  and  with  intelligence  on  Ouster's  part,"  and  calls 
it  unjust  "to  say  that  he  was  reckless  or  foolish."  Bravest 
of  the  brave,  Ouster  was  always  anxious  to  fight,  and,  just 
now  in  ill  favor  with  President  Grant,  he  was  eager  to  make 
a  record ;  but  that  he  was  guilty  of  disobedience  to  his  orders 
is  not  shown. 

It,  indeed,  came  quite  directly  from  General  Terry  that 
had  Ouster  lived  to  return,  "he  would  at  once  have  been  put 
under  arrest  and  court-martialed  for  disobedience."  This 
might  have  been  the  best  way  to  elicit  all  the  facts,  and  does 
not  prove  that  even  General  Terry  would  have  been  sure  of 
Ouster's  conviction. 

General  Miles,  subsequently  head  of  the  army,  was 
strongly  of  the  opinion  that  Ouster  was  not  guilty  of  dis 
obeying  any  orders.  The  late  General  Fry  expressed  him 
self  with  equal  emphasis  in  the  same  tenor.  Colonel  R.  P. 
Hughes,  however,  who  was  General  Terry's  chief  of  staff 
during  the  Sioux  campaign,  sought,  in  an  able  article  in  the 
"Journal  of  the  Military  Service  Institution"  for  January, 
1896,  to  defend  the  contrary  proposition.  He  adduced  many 
interesting  considerations,  but  seemed  to  the  present  writer 
not  at  all  to  justify  his  view. 

Ouster's  expressed  hope  to  "swing  clear"  of  Terry  is 
worked  too  hard  when  made  to  bear  the  meaning  that  he  de 
liberately  purposed  to  disregard  Terry's  orders.  To  have  a 
superior  at  his  elbow  seemed  to  him  queer  and  unpleasant; 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

he  liked,  especially  in  fighting  Indians,  to  be  trusted.  Had 
he  been  minded  disobediently  to  meet  the  Indians  without 
Gibbon,  getting  a  victory  and  all  its  glory  for  himself  alone, 
he  would  have  marched  faster  during  his  first  days  out  from 
the  Rosebud  mouth.  He,  in  fact,  moved  but  108  miles  in 
four  days. 

Much  turns  on  the  force  of  Ouster's  written  orders, 
which,  judged  by  usual  military  documents  of  the  kind,  cer 
tainly  gave  Ouster  a  much  larger  liberty  than  Colonel 
Hughes  supposed.  There  is  an  affidavit  of  a  witness  who 
heard  Terry's  and  Ouster's  last  conversation  together  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Rosebud,  just  before  Ouster  began  his  fatal 
ride.  Terry  said:  "Use  your  own  judgment  and  do  what 
you  think  best  if  you  strike  the  trail ;  and  whatever  you  do, 
Ouster,  hold  on  to  your  wounded."  Even  his  written  orders 
gave  Ouster  leave  to  depart  from  his  written  orders  if  he  saw 
reason  for  doing  so;  i.e.,  if,  in  his  judgment,  the  end  of  the 
campaign  could  be  best  attained  in  that  way.  Hughes  argues 
that  because  he,  Hughes,  can  see  no  reason  for  any  such  de 
parture,  Ouster  could  have  seen  none.  But  how  can  we  know 
this  ?  Ouster,  who  alone  could  tell,  can  not  be  interrogated ; 
and  the  purposes  and  plans  that  governed  his  course  during 
his  eventful  last  days  men  can  only  surmise. 

Hughes's  contention,  in  opposition  to  General  Fry,  that 
Terry  had  communicated  to  Ouster  a  perfectly  definite  plan 
of  campaign,  explicitly  involving  Gibbon's  co-operation  in 
the  attack,  seems  still  to  lack  proof ;  but  the  observations  here 
made  are  little  dependent  on  the  decision  of  that  point.  A 
remark  or  two,  however.  Colonel  Hughes,  it  seems,  wishes 
us  to  think  that  Terry  all  along  knew  the  exceeding  strength 
of  the  Indian  force,  accounting  it  much  too  numerous  for 
Custer  safely  to  attack  alone.  Was  it  not,  then,  rash  and 
cruel  to  send  Custer  out  on  that  far  detour,  crowding  him  so 
well  to  the  south,  where,  let  Gibbon  hurry  as  he  might,  the 
savages  would  have  Custer  at  their  mercy!  He  could  not 
hope  to  conceal  his  march  very  long.  "It  is  folly  to  suppose 
that  either  a  small  or  a  large  band  of  Indians  would  remain 


INDIAN  WARS  AND   THE   OUSTER   DEATH.  167 

stationary  and  allow  one  body  of  troops  to  come  up  on  one 
side  of  it  while  another  body  came  up  on  the  other  side  and 
engaged  it  in  battle.  .  .  .  When  Ouster's  command  was  or 
dered  to  move  out  as  it  did  it  left  the  Indians,  who  were  act 
ing  on  interior  lines,  absolutely  free  to  attack  either  one  of 
the  commands  thus  separated,  or  fight  them  in  detail,  as 
might  be  preferred." 

Hughes  makes  the  point  that  Ouster  did  not  report  to 
Gibbon  whether  he  found  Indians  in  Tulloch  Creek  Valley. 
General  Fry  seems  justified  in  calling  this  a  purely  formal 
and  immaterial  neglect.  The  valley  up  and  down  was  com 
pletely  empty  of  Indians,  and  Ouster  doubtless  considered 
it  a  needless  diminution  of  his  scout  force  to  detach  a  man 
to  report  this.  That  he  did  not  send  word  to  Gibbon  at  any 
later  time  may  seem  strange,  but  he  certainly  was  not  com 
manded  to  do  so. 

Hughes  charges  it  as  disobedience  that  Ouster  did  not 
ride  southward  when  he  ascertained  that  the  Indian  trail 
turned  toward  the  Little  Big  Hom.  But  his  orders  did  not 
command  him  to  go  southward  the  moment  he  ascertained 
the  course  of  the  trail,  or  at  any  other  particular  moment. 
Moreover,  what  Hughes  does  not  observe,  the  purpose  of  veer 
ing  southward  was  simply  to  see  that  the  hostiles  did  not 
escape  around  his  left.  The  configuration  of  the  country, 
as  Ouster  saw  it,  must  have  assured  him  that  when  the  hos 
tiles  made  for  the  Little  Big  Horn  Valley  they  gave  up  all 
purpose  of  marching  south  and  were  bent  upon  going  down 
that  valley.  It  would  have  been  foolish  for  him  to  have 
proceeded  south  after  he  felt  absolutely  convinced  of  the 
enemy's  purpose.  He  would  simply  have  wasted  the  strength 
of  his  command. 

Hughes  deems  it  blameworthy  that  from  the  moment 
when  Ouster  found  the  trail  leading  toward  the  Little  Big 
Horn  he  quickened  his  speed.  In  this  he  seems  to  overlook 
the  fact  that  Ouster's  discovery  may  well  have  led  him  to 
fear  for  Gibbon's  command.  The  redskins  had  gone  to  the 
Little  Big  Horn  on  purpose  to  go  down  that  stream.  Ouster 


168  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

could  not  know  how  far  down  it  they  by  this  time  were,  or 
how  far  up  it  Gibbon  might  possibly  have  come.  Had  he 
not  made  the  best  of  his  way  on  he  would  certainly  have  been 
censurable.  At  the  same  time,  it  obviously  would  not  do  for 
him  when  he  came  upon  the  foe  to  wait  before  attacking  to 
ascertain  Gibbon's  whereabout.  As  General  Fry  observes, 
had  he  hesitated,  either  he  would  have  been  attacked  himself, 
or  else  his  foe  would  have  withdrawn  to  attack  Gibbon  or  to 
get  away  entirely. 

Small  as  was  Ouster's  total  force,  yet  had  Eeno  sup 
ported  him  as  had  been  expected,  the  fight  would  have  been 
a  victory,  the  enemy  killed,  captured,  driven  down  upon 
Gibbon,  or  so  cut  to  pieces  as  never  to  have  reappeared  as  a 
formidable  force.  In  either  of  these  cases  Ouster,  living  or 
dead,  would  have  emerged  from  the  campaign  with  undying 
glory,  and  there  would  have  been  no  thought  of  a  court- 
martial  or  of  censure. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  EXPOSITION.  169 


CHAPTEE    VIII. 

"THE  YEAR  OF  A  HUNDRED  YEARS"— THE  CENTENNIAL  EX 
POSITION  AND  THE  HAYES-TILDEN  IMBROGLIO. 

Origin  of  the  Centennial  Exposition — Philadelphia  Landmarks — 
The  Exposition  Buildings — The  Opening — The  Various  Exhibits 
— Attendance — A  Political  Crisis — Grant  and  Jewell — The  Bel- 
knap  Disgrace — Another  Reform  Movement — Fear  of  a  Third 
Term  for  Grant — Issues  between  the  Parties — Hayes  and  Til- 
den  Nominated — Their  Letters  of  Acceptance — The  Campaign — 
Prophecy  of  Trouble  over  the  Presidential  Count — The  Twenty- 
second  Joint  Rule — Result  of  the  Election  in  Doubt — Cipher  De 
spatches — Queer  Ways  of  Returning  Boards — Fears  and  Hopes 
— The  Electoral  Commission — The  Case  of  Florida,  of  Louisiana, 
of  Oregon,  of  South  Carolina — Hayes  Declared  Elected — An 
Electoral  Count  Law. 

READERS  will  rejoice  that  racial  feuds  at  the  South  ana 
the  West  during  President  Grant's  second  term  did  not  make 
up  the  entire  history  of  these  years.  Despite  those  and  all  its 
other  troubles,  the  American  body  politic  was  about  to  round 
the  first  century  of  its  life  in  satisfactory  and  increasing 
vigor. 

What  could  be  more  fitting  than  that  the  hundredth  anni 
versary  of  the  world's  greatest  Republic  should  be  kept  by  a 
monster  celebration  ?  Such  a  question  was  publicly  raised 
in  1870  by  an  association  of  Philadelphia  citizens,  and  it  set 
the  entire  nation  thinking.  At  first  only  a  United  States 
celebration  was  proposed,  but  reflection  developed  the  idea 
of  a  Mammoth  Fair  where  the  arts  and  industries  of  the 
whole  world  should  be  represented.  Congress  took  up  the 
design  in  1871-72.  In  1873  President  Grant  formally  pro 
claimed  the  Exposition,  and  in  1874  foreign  Governments 
were  invited  to  participate  in  it.  Thirty-three  cordially  re 
sponded,  including  all  the  civilized  nations  except  Greece,  a 
larger  number  than  had  ever  before  taken  part  in  an  event 
like  this. 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.— S. 


170  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Philadelphia  was  naturally  chosen  as  the  seat  of  the  Ex 
position.  Here  the  nation  was  born,  a  fact  of  which  much 
remained  to  testify.  Among  the  ancient  buildings  were  the 
"Old  Swedes7  "  Church,  built  in  1700,  Christ  Church,  begun 
only  twenty-seven  years  later,  still  in  perfect  preservation,  St. 
Peter's,  built  in  1758-61,  and  the  sequestered  Friends'  Meet 
ing-house,  built  in  1808.  The  Penn  Treaty  Monument,  un 
impressive  in  appearance,  marked  the  site  of  the  elin  under 
which  Penn  made  his  famous  treaty  with  the  Indians.  Car 
penters'  Hall,  still  owned  by  the  Carpenters'  Company  which 
built  it,  had  been  made  to  resume  the  appearance  it  bore  when, 
in  1774,  the  first  Continental  Congress  assembled  under  its 
roof.  In  the  centre  of  a  line  of  antique  edifices  known  as 
State-house  Kow,  stood  Independence  Hall,  erected  1732-35. 
The  name  specifically  applied  to  the  large  first-floor  east  room, 
in  which  the  second  Continental  Congress  adopted  the  Decla 
ration  of  Independence.  In  1824  Lafayette  held  a  great  re 
ception  here,  and  six  years  later  it  was  consecrated  to  the  past. 
Revolutionary  portraits  and  relics  were  placed  in  it,  and  the 
building  restored  to  its  original  condition.  In  1854  the  old 
Liberty  Bell  was  taken  down  from  the  tower  into  the  hall  and 
the  walls  enriched  by  a  large  number  of  portraits  from  the 
Peale  Gallery.  A  keeper  was  then  appointed  and  the  hall 
opened  to  visitors. 

In  Fairmount  Park,  beyond  the  Schuylkill,  a  level  plat 
of  over  200  acres  was  inclosed,  and  appropriate  buildings 
erected.  Five  enormous  structures,  the  Main  Building,  with 
Machinery,  Agricultural,  Horticultural,  and  Memorial  Halls, 
towered  above  all  the  rest.  Several  foreign  Governments  built 
structures  of  their  own.  Twenty-six  States  did  the  same. 
Thirty  or  more  buildings  were  put  up  by  private  enterprise 
in  order  the  better  to  present  industrial  processes  and  prod 
ucts.  In  all  more  than  two  hundred  edifices  stood  within  the 
inclosure. 

The  Exposition  opened  on  May  10th,  with  public  exer 
cises,  a  hundred  thousand  people  being  present.  Wagner  had 
composed  a  march  for  the  occasion.  Whittier's  Centennial 


THE  CENTENNIAL  EXPOSITION.  171 

Hymn,  a  noble  piece,  was  sung  by  a  chorus  of  one  thousand 

voices. 

Our  fathers'  God!  from  out  whose  hand 
The  centuries  fall  like  grains  of  sand, 
We  meet  to-day,  united,  free. 
And  loyal  to  our  land  and  Thee, 
To  thank  Thee  for  the  era  done, 
And  trust  Thee  for  the  opening  one. 

Here,  where  of  old,  by  Thy  design, 
The  fathers  spake  that  word  of  Thine, 
Whose  echo  is  the  glad  refrain 
Of  rended  bolt  and  fallen  pliain, 
To  grace  our  festal  time,  from  all 
The  zones  of  earth  our  guests  we  call. 

The  restored  South  chanted  the  praises  of  the  Union  in 
the  words  of  Sidney  Lanier,  the  Georgia  poet.  President 
Grant  then  declared  the  Exposition  open.  Further  simple 
but  impressive  ceremonies  were  held  on  July  4th,  in  the  pub 
lic  square  at  the  rear  of  Independence  Hall.  On  temporary 
platforms  sat  5,000  distinguished  guests,  and  a  chorus  of 
1,000  singers.  The  square  and  the  neighboring  streets  were 
filled  with  a  dense  throng.  Richard  Henry  Lee,  grandson  of 
the  mover  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  came  to  the 
front  with  the  original  document  in  his  hands.  At  sight  of 
that  yellow  and  wrinkled  paper  the  vast  throng  burst  into  pro 
longed  cheering.  Mr.  Lee  read  the  Declaration,  Bayard  Tay 
lor  recited  an  ode,  and  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts  delivered  an 
oration. 

In  the  Main  Building,  erected  in  a  year,  at  a  cost  of 
$1,700,000,  manufactures  were  exhibited,  also  products  of 
the  mine,  along  with  innumerable  other  evidences  of  scien 
tific  and  educational  progress.  More  than  a  third  of  the  space 
was  reserved  for  the  United  States,  the  rest  being  divided 
among  foreign  countries.  The  products  of  all  climates,  tribes, 
and  times  were  here.  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Germany 
exhibited  the  work  of  their  myriad  roaring  looms  side  by 
side  with  the  wares  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  and  the  little 
Orange  Free  State.  Here  were  the  furs  of  Russia,  with  other 
articles  from  the  frozen  iSTorth;  there  the  flashing  diamonds 


172  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  Brazil,  and  the  rich  shawls  and  waving  plumes  of  India. 
At  a  step  one  passed  from  old  Egypt  to  the  latest  born 
South  American  republic.  Chinese  conservatism  and  Yankee 
enterprise  confronted  each  other  across  the  aisle. 

From  the  novelty  of  the  foreign  display  the  American 
visitor  turned  proudly  to  the  handiwork  of  his  own  land. 
Textiles,  arms,  tools,  musical  instruments,  watches,  carriages, 
cutlery,  books,  furniture — a  bewildering  display  of  all  things 
useful  and  ornamental — made  him  realize  as  never  before  the 
wealth,  intelligence,  and  enterprise  of  his  native  country,  and 
the  proud  station  to  which  she  had  risen  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  Three-fourths  of  the  space  in  Machinery  Hall 
was  taken  up  with  American  machinery. 

Memorial  Hall,  a  beautiful  permanent  building  of  gran 
ite,  erected  by  Pennsylvania  and  Philadelphia  at  a  cost  of 
$1,500,000,  was  given  up  to  art.  This  was  the  poorest  fea 
ture  of  the  Exposition,  though  the  collection  was  the  largest 
and  most  notable  ever  till  then  seen  this  side  the  Atlantic. 
America  had  few  art  works  of  the  first  order  to  show,  while 
foreign  nations,  with  the  exception  of  England,  which  con 
tributed  a  noble  lot  of  paintings,  including  works  by  Gains 
borough  and  Reynolds,  feared  to  send  their  choicest  products 
across  the  sea.  All  through  the  summer  and  early  autumn, 
spite  of  the  unusual  heat  that  year,  thousands  of  pilgrims 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  and  the  world  filled  the  fair 
grounds  and  the  city.  Amid  the  crowds  of  visitors  Philadel- 
phians  became  strangers  in  their  own  streets.  On  September 
28th,  Pennsylvania  Day,  275,000  persons  passed  the  gates. 
During  October,  the  visitors  numbered  over  two  and  a  half 
millions.  From  May  10th  to  November  10th,  the  closing 
day,  the  total  admissions  were  9,900,000.  The  aggregate 
attendance  was  larger  than  at  any  previous  international  ex 
hibition,  except  that  of  Paris  in  1867.  The  admissions  there 
reached  10,200,000,  but  the  gates  were  open  fifty-one  days 
longer  than  in  Philadelphia.  At  Vienna,  in  1873,  there 
were  but  7,255,000  admissions  in  186  days,  against  159 
days  at  Philadelphia. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  EXPOSITION.  173 

Full  of  peace  and  promise  as  was  this  Philadelphia  pag 
eant,  in  politics  these  same  months  saw  the  United  States  at 
a  serious  crisis.  The  best  interests  of  the  country  seemed  to 
depend  on  the  party  in  power,  yet  a  large  and  influential 
section  of  that  party  was  in  all  but  open  revolt.  Many  base 
men  to  whom  honest  and  enterprising  public  servants  were 
unwelcome  were  tolerated  near  the  President.  Secretary 
Bristow's  noble  fight  against  the  Whiskey  Ring,  his  victory, 
and  his  resignation  from  the  Cabinet  are  described  in  an 
other  chapter.  Ex-Governor  Marshall  Jewell,  of  Connecti 
cut,  was  a  most  efficient  Postmaster-General.  Upon  taking 
his  office  he  avowed  the  purpose  to  conduct  it  on  business 
principles.  He  at  once  began  to  attack  the  notorious  "straw 
bids"  and  other  corrupt  practices  connected  with  carrying 
the  mails  in  Texas  and  Alabama.  It  was  he  who  introduced 
the  Railway  Post-office  System,  by  which  the  postal  matter 
for  a  State,  instead  of  first  going  to  the  capital  or  to  one  or 
two  central  cities  and  being  slowly  distributed  thence,  was 
sent  to  its  destination  directly,  by  the  shortest  routes  and  in 
the  most  expeditious  manner.  Yet,  in  1876,  two  years  from 
the  time  of  his  appointment,  much  to  the  surprise  of  the 
public,  Jewell  left  the  Cabinet.  An  office-holder  explained 
that  "they  didn't  care  much  for  Jewell  in  Washington ;  why, 
he  ran  the  Post-Office  as  though  it  was  a  factory!"  The 
ring  politicians  were  a  unit  against  him,  and  finally  suc 
ceeded  in  displacing  him.  In  a  speech  before  the  Senate 
during  the  impeachment  trial  of  Belknap,  Grant's  War  Sec 
retary,  lion.  George  F.  Hoar  declared  that  he  had  heard  the 
taunt  from  friendliest  lips  that  "the  only  product  of  the 
United  States'  institutions,  in  which  she  surpassed  all  other 
nations  beyond  question,  was  her  corruption." 

The  Sherman  Letters  threw  much  light  on  the  Belknap 
disgrace.  July  8,  1871,  General  Sherman  wrote:  "My 
office  has  been  by  law  stripped  of  all  the  influence  and  pres 
tige  it  possessed  under  Grant  (as  General),  and  even  in  mat 
ters  of  discipline  and  army  control  I  am  neglected,  over 
looked,  or  snubbed."  Later,  Sherman  wrote:  "Belknap  has 


174  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

acted  badly  by  me  ever  since  lie  reached  Washington.  Gen 
eral  Grant  promised  me  often  to  arrange  and  divide  our  func 
tions,  but  he  never  did,  but  left  the  Secretary  to  do  all  those 
things  of  which  he  himself,  as  General,  had  complained  to 
Staiiton."  "The  President  and  Belknap  both  gradually  with 
drew  from  me  all  the  powers  which  Grant  had  exercised  in 
the  same  office,  and  Congress  capped  the  climax  by  repealing 
that  law  which  required  all  orders  to  the  army  to  go  through 
the  General."  "I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  if  the 
Secretary  of  War  has  the  right  to  command  the  army  through 
the  Adjutant-General,  then  my  office  is  a  sinecure  and  should 
be  abolished." 

Why  the  General  of  the  Army  had  been  thus  extruded 
from  the  authority  and  functions  properly  attending  his 
office,  was  clear  when,  on  February  29,  1876,  Caleb  P. 
Marsh,  one  of  a  firm  of  contractors  in  ISTew  York  City,  testi 
fied  before  a  Congressional  Committee  that,  in  1870,  Bel- 
knap  had  offered  him  the  control  of  the  post-tradership  at 
Fort  Sill,  Indian  Territory,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him 
to  extort  from  the  actual  holder  of  the  place,  one  John  S. 
Evans,  $3,000  four  times  a  year  as  the  price  of  continuing 
in  it.  The  Secretary  and  his  family  appeared  to  have  re 
ceived  $24,450  in  this  way.  Belknap's  resignation  was  of 
fered  and  accepted  a  few  hours  before  the  House  passed  a 
unanimous  vote  to  impeach  him.  Other  dubious  acts  of 
Belknap's  came  to  light,  notably  a  contract  for  erecting  tomb 
stones  in  national  cemeteries,  from  which,  as  was  charged, 
he  realized  $90,000.  In  the  fall  of  1874,  General  Sherman 
actually  transferred  his  headquarters  to  St.  Louis,  to  remove 
himself  from  official  contact  with  Belknap,  who  was  issuing 
orders  and  making  appointments  without  Sherman's  knowl 
edge.  Two  years  later,  after  Belknap's  resignation,  the 
office  of  General  of  the  Army  was  reinvested  with  the  powers 
which  had  formerly  belonged  to  it.  Then  the  General  moved 
back  to  Washington. 

Belknap  demurred  to  the  Senate's  jurisdiction,  but  on 
May  29th  the  Senate  affirmed  this,  37  to  29,  Morton  and 


THE  CENTENNIAL  EXPOSITION.  175 

Conkling  voting  nay,  Cameron,  Edmunds,  Morrill,  and  Sher 
man  aye.  Thurman  moved  the  resolution  of  impeachment. 
Belknap's  counsel  refused  to  let  him  plead,  urging  that  the 
vote  to  assume  jurisdiction,  not  being  a  two-thirds  vote,  was 
equivalent  to  an  acquittal.  The  Senate,  however,  proceeded, 
as  on  a  plea  of  "not  guilty,"  to  try  him.  He  was  acquitted, 
one  Democrat  voting  for  acquittal.  Morton  was  among  the 
Republicans  who  voted  for  conviction. 

After  the  above  recitals  one  is  not  surprised  that  in  April, 
1876,  over  the  signatures  of  William  Cullen  Bryant,  Theo 
dore  D.  Woolsey,  Alexander  H.  Bullock,  Horace  White,  and 
Carl  Schurz,  was  issued  a  circular  call  for  a  conference  of 
Republicans  dissatisfied  at  the  "widespread  corruption" 
with  which  machine  politics  had  infected  our  public  service. 
The  conference  organized  about  five  weeks  later,  electing 
Theodore  D.  Woolsey  for  president,  and  for  secretaries, 
among  others,  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  Francis  A.  Walker,  and 
Henry  Armitt  Brown.  A  Committee  on  Business  next  re 
ported  "An  Address  to  the  American  People/'  by  which  the 
assemblage,  after  recounting  the  threatening  growth  of  offi 
cial  corruption  hand  in  hand  with  the  spoils  system,  invoked 
all  good  citizens  to  join  them  in  a  pledge  to  support  no  Pres 
idential  aspirant  not  known  "to  possess  the  moral  courage 
and  sturdy  resolution  to  grapple  with  abuses  which  had  ac 
quired  the  strength  of  established  customs,  and  to  this  end 
firmly  to  resist  the  pressure  even  of  his  party  friends." 

The  New  York  "Herald"  had,  in  1874,  started  a  cry  that 
Grant  would  not  be  averse  to  breaking  the  canon  set  by 
Washington  against  a  third  Presidential  term.  Democratic 
journals  took  up  the  alarm,  and  soon  the  press  all  over  the 
land  was  vocal  with  denunciations  of  "Grantism,"  "Csesar- 
ism,"  "Third  Termism!"  So  nervous  did  the  din  make  Re 
publicans,  that,  in  1875,  the  Pennsylvania  Republican  Con 
vention  passed  a  resolution  of  unalterable  "opposition  to  the 
election  to  the  Presidency  of  any  person  for  a  third  term." 
Grant  had  thus  far  been  almost  alone  in  keeping  silence,  but 
he  at  last  felt  called  to  express  himself.  He  wrote  a  letter 


176  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

to  the  chairman  of  the  convention.  "Now  for  the  third 
term/'  said  he,  "I  do  not  want  it  any  more  than  I  did  the 
first."  Yet  he  remarked  that  the  Constitution  did  not  re 
strict  a  President  to  two  terms,  and  that  it  might  some  time 
be  unfortunate  to  dismiss  one  so  soon.  However,  he  would 
not  accept  a  nomination  unless  "under  such  circumstances 
as  to  make  it  an  imperative  duty — circumstances  not  likely 
to  arise."  This  was  too  equivocal.  The  Rational  House  of 
Representatives  therefore  passed  a  resolution,  234  to  18, 
seventy  Republicans  voting  for  it: 

"That  in  the  opinion  of  this  House,  the  precedent  estab 
lished  by  Washington  and  other  Presidents  of  the  United 
States,  after  their  second  term,  has  become,  by  universal 
concurrence,  a  part  of  our  republican  system  of  govern 
ment,  and  that  any  departure  from  this  time-honored  custom 
would  be  unwise,  unpatriotic,  and  fraught  with  peril  to  our 
free  institutions." 

The  issues,  with  a  view  to  which,  in  18Y6,  the  two  great 
parties  constructed  their  platforms,  were  mainly  three :  The 
"Southern  question,"  specie  resumption,  and  civil  service 
reform.  The  Republican  party  indorsed  its  own  civil  rights 
and  force  legislation,  but  called  for  better  administration. 
The  Democracy  had  at  last,  to  use  J.  Q.  Adams's  phrase, 
"sneaked  up  to  its  inevitable  position."  It  reaffirmed  its 
faith  in  the  Union,  and  its  devotion  to  the  Constitution,  with 
its  amendments,  universally  accepted,  as  a  final  settlement 
of  the  controversy  which  engendered  civil  war.  This  was 
a  re-emergence  of  Vallandigham's  New  Departure  for  the 
party.  The  Democratic  platform  rang  with  the  cry  of  "Re 
form,"  which  had  been  so  effectual  in  New  York  State  in  the 
election  of  Tilden  as  Governor.  The  catalogue  of  shocking 
Republican  scandals  was  gone  over  to  prove  the  futility  of 
attempting  "reform  within  party  lines."  "President,  Vice- 
President,  Judges,  Senators,  Representatives,  Cabinet  Offi 
cers — these  and  all  others  in  authority  are  the  people's  ser 
vants.  Their  offices  are  not  a  private  perquisite;  they  are  a 
public  trust,"  This  was  the  origin  of  an  expression,  after- 


THE  CENTENNIAL  EXPOSITION.  177 

ward  usually  referred  to  President  Cleveland,  which  bade 
fair  to  be  immortal. 

While  the  Republicans  favored  a  "continuous  and  steady 
progress  to  specie  payments/'  the  hard-money  men  failed  to 
get  the  Convention  to  indorse  the  Resumption  Clause  of  the 
Act  of  1875.  The  Democrats  denounced  that  clause  as  a 
hindrance  to  resumption,  but  their  Convention  would  not 
commit  itself  to  a  condemnation  of  the  resumption  policy. 
The  Republicans  favored  a  revenue  tariff  with  incidental 
protection.  The  Democrats  repudiated  protection,  and  de 
manded  "that  all  custom-house  taxation  should  be  only  for 
revenue." 

The  Republican  Convention  met  in  Cincinnati  on  June 
14th.  " Third-termers"  saw  no  hope  for  Grant.  James  G. 
Elaine  was  thought  the  man  most  likely  to  receive  the  nomi 
nation.  His  name  was  placed  before  the  Convention  by 
.Colonel  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  in  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
addresses  ever  heard  on  such  an  occasion.  When  in  the  roll- 
call  of  States  Maine  was  reached,  boundless  enthusiasm 
reigned,  with  cheering  that  died  away  only  to  be  renewed, 
closing  with  three  cheers  for  James  G.  Elaine.  Mr.  Inger 
soll  mounted  the  platform.  As  he  was  then  comparatively 
unknown,  the  epigrammatic  force  and  the  fervor  of  his  words 
took  his  hearers  by  surprise.  His  concluding  periods  were 
not  soon  forgotten,  and  the  title  of  "Plumed  Knight,"  with 
which  he  dubbed  his  hero,  adhered  to  Mr.  Elaine  through 
life. 

"This  is  a  grand  year,"  he  said;  "a  year  filled  with  the 
recollections  of  the  Revolution ;  filled  with  proud  and  tender 
memories  of  the  sacred  past;  .  .  .  the  span  is  too  long  filled 
with  legends  of  liberty; — a  year  in  which  the  sons  of  free 
dom  will  drink  from  the  fountain  of  enthusiasm;  a  year  in 
which  the  people  call  for  the  man  who  has  preserved  in  Con 
gress  what  their  soldiers  won  upon  the  field ;  a  year  in  which 
they  call  for  the  man  who  has  torn  from  the  throat  of  treason 
the  tongue  of  slander;  the  man  who  has  snatched  the  mask 
of  Democracy  from  the  hideous  face  of  the  rebellion;  the 


178  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

man  who,  like  the  intellectual  athlete,  has  stood  in  the  arena 
of  debate,  challenging  all  comers,  and  who,  up  to  the  present 
moment,  is  a  total  stranger  to  defeat.  Like  an  armed  war 
rior,  like  a  plumed  knight,  James  G.  Elaine  marched  down 
the  halls  of  the  American  Congress,  and  threw  his  shining 
lance  full  and  fair  against  the  brazen  forehead  of  every 
traitor  to  his  country  and  every  maligner  of  his  fair  reputa 
tion.  For  the  Eepublican  party  to  desert  that  gallant  man 
now  is  as  though  an  army  should  desert  its  general  upon  the 
field  of  battle.  .  .  .  James  G.  Elaine  is  now,  and  has  been 
for  years,  the  bearer  of  the  sacred  standard  of  the  Republi 
can  party.  I  call  it  sacred  because  no  human  being  can 
stand  beneath  its  folds  without  becoming  and  without  re 
maining  free. 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  In  the  name  of  the  great 
Republic,  the  only  Republic  that  ever  existed  upon  the  face 
of  the  earth;  in  the  name  of  all  her  defenders  and  of  all 
her  supporters ;  in  the  name  of  all  her  soldiers  living ;  in  the 
name  of  all  her  soldiers  that  died  upon  the  field  of  battle; 
'and  in  the  name  of  those  that  perished  in  the  skeleton  clutch 
of  famine  at  Andersonville  and  Libby,  whose  sufferings  he 
so  vividly  remembers — Illinois — Illinois — nominates  for  the 
next  President  of  this  country  that  prince  of  parliamentari 
ans,  that  leader  of  leaders,  James  G.  Elaine." 

Elaine  was  indeed  a  brilliant  parliamentarian,  but  his 
prospects  were  weakened  by  alleged  questionable  proceed 
ings,  the  nature  of  which  we  shall  exhibit  later.  Most  of 
the  Southern  delegates  were  for  Oliver  P.  Morton,  of  Indi 
ana.  Conkling,  of  New  York,  in  addition  to  the  potent 
support  of  his  State,  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  Administra 
tion.  The  reform  and  anti-Grant  delegates  were  enthusias 
tic  for  the  gallant  destroyer  of  the  Whiskey  Ring,  ex-Secre 
tary  Bristow,  of  Kentucky.  George  William  Curtis  said 
that  at  the  Attorney-General's  table  he  asked  Jewell,  whom 
the  party — not  the  managers — would  make  the  candidate, 
and  .that  Jewell  instantly  answered,  "Bristow."  Pennsyl 
vania,  Connecticut,  and  Ohio  all  appeared  with  favorite  sons 


THE  TILDEN-HAYES  IMBROGLIO.  179 

in  their  arms :  Hartranf t,  Jewell,  and  Hayes,  respectively. 
The  names  familiar  enough  to  evoke  cheers  from  one  faction 
drew  "curses  not  loud  but  deep"  from  other  cliques.  Upon 
the  seventh  ballot,  therefore,  the  Convention  united  upon 
Governor  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  a  man  who,  though 
little  known,  awakened  no  antagonism  and  had  110  embarrass 
ing  past,  while  he  had  made  a  most  creditable  record  both  as 
a  soldier  and  as  the  chief  magistrate  of  his  State. 

When  Hayes  was  nominated  for  Governor,  in  1875,  in 
flation  was  popular  all  over  the  West.  Both  parties  were 
infected,  though  the  Democrats  the  worse.  The  Ohio  De 
mocracy  was  led  that  year  by  William  Allen  and  Samuel 
F.  Carey,  two  of  the  ablest  campaigners  ever  heard  upon 
the  stump  in  this  country.  Hayes  dared  them  to  the  issue. 
Spite  of  protests  from  timid  Republicans,  he  came  out  boldly 
for  resumption  and  the  re-establishment  of  the  specie  stand 
ard,  turned  the  tide  against  the  inflationist  hosts,  and  carried 
the  State.  From  that  moment  the  Ohio  Governor  was  seen 
by  many  to  be  of  Presidential  stature.  John  Sherman  was 
the  first  to  name  him  for  the  higher  office.  In  a  letter  dated 
January  21,  1876,  he  had  written:  "Considering  all  things 
I  believe  the  nomination  of  Governor  Hayes  would  give  us 
more  strength,  taking  the  whole  country  at  large,  than  that 
of  any  other  man." 

The  Democratic  Convention  convened  at  St.  Louis  on 
June  28th,  nominating  Samuel  J.  Tilden  on  the  second  bal 
lot.  Tilden  was  born  in  New  Lebanon,  N.  Y.,  February  9, 
1814.  In  1845,  he  was  elected  to  the  New  York  Assembly; 
in  1846  and  again  in  1867  to  the  State  Constitutional  Con 
vention.  He  was  a  keen  lawyer.  By  his  famous  analysis 
of  the  Broadway  Bank  accounts  during  the  prosecution  of 
the  Tammany  Ring  he  rendered  an  invaluable  service  to  the 
cause  of  reform,  As  Governor,  in  1875,  he  waged  relentless 
and  triumphant  war  against  the  Canal  Ring,  "the  country 
thieves,"  as  they  were  called  to  distinguished  them  from 
Tweed  and  his  coterie. 

In  accepting  the  nomination,  Tilden  reiterated  his  pro- 


180  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tests  against  "the  magnificent  and  oppressive  centralism  into 
which  our  Government  was  being  converted."  He  also  com 
mended  reform  in  the  civil  service,  deprecating  the  notion 
that  this  service  existed  for  office-holders,  and  bewailing  the 
organization  of  the  official  class  into  a  body  of  political  mer 
cenaries.  Hayes's  letter  emphasized  civil  service  reform 
even  more  strongly.  He  zealously  descanted  upon  the  evils 
of  the  spoils  system,  and  pledged  himself,  if  elected,  to  em 
ploy  all  the  constitutional  powers  vested  in  the  President  to 
secure  reform,  returning  to  the  "old  rule,  the  true  rule,  that 
honesty,  capacity,  and  fidelity  constitute  the  only  real  quali 
fications  for  office."  Both  candidates  wished  the  Executive 
to  be  relieved  of  the  temptation  to  use  patronage  for  his  own 
re-election.  Mr.  Hayes  made  "the  noble  pledge,"  that  in  no 
case  would  he  be  a  candidate  again.  Mr.  Tilden  disparaged 
self-imposed  restrictions,  but  recommended  that  the  Chief 
Magistrate  be  constitutionally  disqualified  for  re-election. 

Hayes's  ambiguity  touching  the  Southern  question  gave 
hope  that,  even  if  the  Republicans  succeeded,  a  milder  South 
ern  policy  would  be  introduced.  Tilden,  while  crying  out 
against  the  insupportable  misgovernment  imposed  upon  re 
constructed  States,  frankly  accepted  the  Democrats'  new 
departure.  Before  the  end  of  the  canvass  he  published  a 
pledge  that,  if  elected,  he  would  enforce  the  constitutional 
amendments  and  resist  Southern  claims. 

The  campaign  was  tame.  The  fact  that  both  candidates 
were  of  blameless  character  muffled  partisan  eloquence. 
Great  efforts  were  made  to  discredit  Tilden  for  connection 
with  certain  railroad  enterprises,  and  he  was  sued  for  an  in 
come  tax  alleged  to  be  due.  Retorting,  the  Democrats 
sneered  at  Hayes  as  an  "obscure"  man,  and  roundly  de 
nounced  the  extortion  practiced  upon  office-holders  under 
Secretary  Chandler's  eye.  This  chatter  amounted  to  little. 
All  signs  pointed  to  a  close  election. 

So  early  as  May,  1874,  Mr.  Morton  of  Indiana  had  pro 
posed  in  the  Senate  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  making 
the  President  eligible  by  the  people  directly.  The  proposal 


THE  TILDEN-HAYES  IMBROGLIO.  181 

was  committed  and?  the  next  January,  debated.  Each  State 
was  to  have  as  many  Presidential  as  Congressional  districts. 
The  Presidential  candidate  successful  in  any  district  would 
receive  therefrom  one  Presidential  vote,  while  two  special 
Presidential  votes  would  fall  to  the  candidate  receiving  the 
greatest  number  of  district  votes  in  the  State. 

In  reviewing  the  need  of  some  such  change  Morton  spoke 
like  a  prophet.  "No  State,"  he  declared,  "has  provided  any 
method  of  contesting  the  election  of  electors.  Though  this 
election  may  be  distinguished  by  fraud,  notorious  fraud,  by 
violence,  by  tumult,  yet  there  is  no  method  of  contesting  it." 
Again:  "It  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  the  members  of 
the  Convention  that  there  could  be  two  sets  of  electors ;  it 
seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  them  that  there  would  be 
fraud  and  corruption,  or  any  reason  why  the  votes  of  electors 
should  be  set  aside.  It  is  clearly  a  casus  omissus,  a  thing 
overlooked  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitution."  The  subject 
was,  however,  laid  aside,  and  never  taken  up  again  till  the 
dangers  which  Morton  had  so  faithfully  foretold  were  actu 
ally  shaking  the  pillars  of  our  Government. 

Morton  also  sought  to  amend  and  render  of  service  the 
twenty-second  joint  rule,  the  substance  of  which  was  that  in 
counting  the  electoral  votes  no  question  should  be  decided 
affirmatively  and  no  vote  objected  to  be  counted,  "except  by 
the  concurrent  votes  of  the  two  Houses."  This  rule  had  been 
passed  in  1865,  being  meant  to  enable  the  radicals  to  reject 
electoral  votes  from  Mr.  Lincoln's  "ten  per  cent  States," 
viz.,  those  reconstructed  on  the  Presidential  plan.  Morton 
proposed  to  modify  this  rule  so  that  no  vote  could  be  rejected 
save  by  concurrent  vote  of  the  two  Houses.  A  bill  providing 
for  such  change  passed  the  Senate,  six  Republicans  opposing. 
It  was  never  taken  up  in  the  House.  Morton  introduced 
the  bill  again  in  the  next  Congress,  only  to  see  it  killed  by 
delays. 

The  election  of  1876  passed  off  quietly,  troops  being  sta 
tioned  at  the  polls  in  turbulent  quarters.  "The  result  was 
doubtful  up  to  the  day  of  election ;  it  was  doubtful  after  the 


182  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

election  was  over,  and  to  this  day  the  question,  Was  Tilden  or 
Hayes  duly  elected  ?  is  an  open  one.  The  first  reports  re 
ceived  in  New  York  were  so  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  Demo 
cratic  ticket  that  the  leading  Republican  journals  admitted  its 
success."  The  "Times"  alone  stood  out,  persistently  declar 
ing  that  Hayes  was  elected,  which  caused  intense  excitement 
among  the  huge  crowd  gathered  in  the  square  fronting  the 
"Times"  office.  The  next  day  different  reports  were  re 
ceived,  and  both  sides  claimed  the  victory.  Hon.  Hugh  Mc- 
Culloch,  a  Republican,  but  eminently  free  from  partisan 
bias,  was  of  the  opinion  at  the  time,  and  so  long  as  he  lived, 
that  if  the  distinguished  Northern  men  who  visited  those 
States  had  stayed  at  home,  and  there  had  been  no  outside 
pressure  upon  the  returning  boards,  their  certificates  would 
have  been  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  electors.  This  opinion 
was  confirmed  by  a  remark  of  the  President  of  the  Union 
Telegraph  Company  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Union 
League  Club  of  New  York,  in  1878.  In  a  conversation  with 
that  gentleman  Mr.  McCulloch  happened  to  speak  of  the 
election  of  Mr.  Hayes,  when  he  interrupted  by  saying :  "  'But 
he  was  not  elected.'  'If  he  was  not,  the  emanations  of  your 
office  failed  to  show  it/  McCulloch  replied.  'Oh,  yes/  he  re 
joined;  'but  that  was  because  the  examiners  did  not  know 
where  to  look.'  .  .  .  'Mr.  Tilden/  said  a  prominent  Repub 
lican,  'was,  I  suppose,  legally  elected,  but  not  fairly.' '  This 
was  doubtless  the  conclusion  of  a  great  many  other  Republi 
cans,  as  well  as  of  practically  all  the  Democrats. 

Pending  the  meeting  of  the  State  electoral  colleges,  some 
of  Tilden's  warmest  supporters  undertook  negotiations  to  se 
cure  for  him  one  or  more  electoral  votes  from  South  Caro 
lina  or  Florida.  As  their  apologists  put  it,  "they  seem  to 
have  feared  that  the  corrupt  canvassers  would  declare"  those 
States  for  Hayes,  "and  being  convinced  that  the  popular  vote 
had  been  cast  for  Tilden,  to  have  been  willing  to  submit  to 
the  payment  of  moneys  which  they  were  informed  some  of 
the  canvassers  demanded  by  way  of  blackmail."  One  Hardy 
Solomon,  pretending  to  represent  the  South  Carolina  Can- 


THE  TILDEN-HAYES  IMBROGLIO.  183 

vassing  Board,  went  to  Baltimore  expecting  to  receive  $60,- 
000  or  $80,000  in  this  interest;  but,  upon  applying  to  Mr. 
Tilden  for  the  sum,  he  was  peremptorily  refused.  These 
negotiations  were  authorized  neither  by  Mr.  Tilden,  who, 
under  oath,  denied  all  knowledge  of  them,  nor  by  the  Demo 
cratic  National  Committee.  The  Republican  members  of 
the  Clarkson  investigating  committee  thought  them  traceable 
to  Tilden's  secretary,  Colonel  Pelton,  with  Smith  M.  Weed 
and  Manton  Marble ;  but  the  responsibility  for  them  was 
never  really  fixed  upon  any  one.  The  despatches  went  back 
and  forth  in  cipher.  Under  a  subpo3na  from  the  Senate  Com 
mittee  on  Privileges  and  Elections,  the  Western  Union  Tele 
graph  Company  delivered  them  to  that  Committee,  and  on 
January  25,  1877,  they  were  locked  in  a  trunk  in  its  room. 
When  this  trunk  was  returned  to  New  York  City  on  the  fol 
lowing  March  13th  it  was  discovered  that  a  large  number  of 
the  cipher  despatches  had  been  abstracted.  Of  those  missing, 
some  seven  hundred  were,  in  May,  1878,  in  possession  of 
G.  E.  Bullock,  messenger  of  the  committee  last  named.  Part 
of  these  subsequently  found  their  way  into  the  office  of  the 
New  York  "Tribune,"  where  they  were  translated  and  pub 
lished,  causing  much  excitement  and  comment.  There  is 
some  evidence  that  Republican  cipher  despatches  no  less  com 
promising  than  these,  and  used  for  the  same  purpose,  had 
been  filched  from  the  trunk  and  destroyed. 

Tilden  carried  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Indiana,  and 
Connecticut.  With  a  solid  South  he  had  won  the  day.  But 
the  returning  boards  of  Louisiana,  Florida,  and  South  Caro 
lina,  throwing  out  the  votes  of  several  Democratic  districts  on 
the  ground  of  fraud  or  intimidation,  decided  that  those  States 
had  gone  Republican,  giving  Hayes  a  majority  of  one  in  the 
electoral  college.  The  Democrats  raised  the  cry  of  fraud. 
Threats  were  muttered  that  Hayes  would  never  be  inaugu 
rated.  Excitement  thrilled  the  country.  Grant  strengthened 
the  military  force  in  and  about  Washington.  However,  the 
people  looked  to  Congress  for  a  peaceful  solution,  and  not  in 
vain. 


184  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  Constitution  provides  that  the  "President  of  the 
Senate  shall,  in  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  open  all  the  (electoral)  certificates,  and  the 
votes  shall  then  be  counted."  Attending  to  the  most  obvious 
meaning  of  these  words,  a  good  many  Republicans  held  that 
the  power  to  count  the  votes  lay  with  the  President  of  the 
Senate,  the  House  and  Senate  being  mere  spectators.  The 
Democrats  objected  to  this  construction,  since,  according  to 
it,  Mr.  Ferry,  the  Republican  President  of  the  Senate,  could 
count  the  votes  of  the  disputed  States  for  Hayes,  and  was 
practically  certain  to  do  so. 

The  twenty-second  joint  rule  had,  when  passed,  been  at 
tacked  as  grossly  unconstitutional.  Republicans  now  ad 
mitted  that  it  was  so,  and  the  Senate,  since  the  House  was 
Democratic,  voted  to  rescind  it.  As  it  stood,  electoral  cer 
tificates  were  liable  to  be  thrown  out  on  the  most  frivolous 
objections,  as  that  of  Arkansas  had  once  been,  simply  because 
it  bore  the  wrong  seal.  But  now  the  Democrats  insisted  that 
Congress  should  enforce  this  old  rule.  That  done,  the  House, 
rejecting  the  vote  of  one  State,  would  elect  Tilden. 

Only  a  compromise  could  break  the  deadlock.  A  joint 
committee  reported  the  famous  Electoral  Commission  Bill, 
which  passed  House  and  Senate  by  large  majorities.  The 
main  faith  in  the  plan  was  on  the  Democratic  side.  In  a  Sen 
ate  speech,  February  2,  1881,  Blaine  spoke  of  the  Commis 
sion  as  "a  rickety  makeshift."  One  hundred  and  eighty-six 
Democrats  voted  for  it  and  eighteen  against,  while  the  Re 
publican  vote  stood  fifty-two  for,  seventy-five  against.  With 
regard  to  single  returns  the  bill  reversed  the  Rule  of  1865, 
suffering  none  to  be  rejected  save  by  concurrent  action  of  the 
two  Houses.  Double  or  multiple  returns  were,  in  cases  of 
dispute,  to  be  referred  to  a  commission  of  five  Senators,  five 
Representatives,  and  five  Justices  of  the  United  States  Su 
preme  Court,  the  fifth  Justice  being  selected  by  the  four 
appointed  in  the  bill.  Previous  to  this  choice  the  Commis 
sion  contained  seven  Democrats  and  seven  Republicans.  The 
five  Senators  on  the  Commission  were  George  F.  Edmunds, 


THE  TILDEN-HAYES  IMBROGLIO.  185 

Oliver  P.  Morton,  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen,  Republicans ; 
and  Allen  G.  Thurmaii  and  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  Democrats. 
The  members  of  the  Honse  were  Henry  B.  Payne,  Eppa 
Hunton,  and  Josiali  G.  Abbott,  Democrats;  and  James  A. 
Garfield  and  George  F.  Hoar,  Republicans.  Four  Justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court  were  designated  in  the  Act  by  the  cir 
cuits  to  which  they  belonged.  These  were  Nathan  Clifford 
and  Stephen  J.  Field,  Democrats,  and  William  Strong  and 
Samuel  F.  Miller,  Republicans.  These  four  Justices  were  by 
the  Act  to  select  the  fifth.  It  was  expected  that  the  fifth 
Justice  would  be  Hon.  David  Davis,  of  Illinois,  a  neutral 
with  Democratic  leanings,  who  had  been  a  warm  friend  of 
President  Lincoln's  but  an  opponent  of  Grant.  Mr.  Davis's 
unexpected  election  as  Senator  from  his  State  made  Justice 
Bradley  the  decisive  umpire. 

The  Commission  met  011  the  last  day  of  January,  1877. 
The  cases  of  Florida,  Louisiana,  Oregon,  and  South  Carolina 
were  in  succession  submitted  to  it,  eminent  counsel  appearing 
for  each  side.  There  were  double  or  multiple  sets  of  returns 
from  each  State  -named.  Three  returns  from  Florida  were 
passed  in.  One  contained  four  votes  for  Hayes,  certified  by 
the  late  Republican  Governor,  Stearns.  One  return  gave 
four  votes  for  Tilden,  bearing  the  certificate  of  the  Attorney- 
General,  a  member  of  the  returning  board.  Third  was  the 
same  return  reinforced  with  the  certificate  of  the  new  Demo 
cratic  Governor,  Drew,  under  a  State  law  passed  a  few  days 
before,  directing  a  recanvass  of  the  votes.  Democratic  coun 
sel  urged  that  the  first  return  should  be  rejected  as  the  result 
of  fraud  and  conspiracy  by  the  returning  board,  whose  action 
the  State  Supreme  Court  had  held  to  be  ultra  vires  and 
illegal. 

In  Baker  County,  which  was  decisive  of  the  result  in 
Florida,  the  canvassers  were  the  county  judge,  the  county 
clerk,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace  to  be  called  in  by  them.  The 
judge  refusing  to  join  the  clerk  in  the  canvass,  the  latter 
summoned  a  justice  and  with  him  made  the  canvass,  which 
all  admitted  to  be  a  true  one.  The  same  night  the  judge 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

called  in  the  sheriff  and  another  justice,  and  together  they 
surreptitiously  entered  the  clerk's  office,  lighted  it  up,  and 
took  out  the  returns  from  a  drawer  in  his  desk.  There  were 
only  four  precincts  in  the  county,  and  of  the  four  returns 
from  these,  confessedly  without  the  slightest  evidence  of 
fraud  or  intimidation,  they  threw  out  two.  The  other  two 
they  certified. 

The  Republican  counsel  maintained  that  the  issue  was 
not  which  set  of  Florida  electors  received  an  actual  majority, 
hut  which  had  received  the  legal  sanction  of  State  authority ; 
in  short,  that  the  business  of  the  Commission  was  not  to  go 
behind  the  returns,  which,  they  argued,  would  be  physically, 
legally,  and  constitutionally  impossible.  This  view  the  Com 
mission  espoused,  which  sufficed  to  decide  not  only  the  case 
of  Florida,  but  also  that  of  Louisiana,  whence  came  three  seta 
of  certificates,  and  that  of  South  Carolina,  whence  came  two. 
The  first  and  third  Louisiana  returns  were  duplicates,  signed 
by  Governor  Kellogg,  in  favor  of  the  Hayes  electors.  The 
second  was  certified  by  McEnery,  who  claimed  to  be  Gov 
ernor,  and  was  based  not  upon  the  return  as  made  by  the 
board,  but  upon  the  popular  vote.  The  return  of  the  Tilden 
electors  in  South  Carolina  was  not  certified.  They  al 
leged  that  they  had  been  counted  out  by  the  State  Board  in 
defiance  of  the  State  Supreme  Court  and  of  the  popular 
will. 

In  Oregon  the  Democratic  Governor  declared  one  of  the 
Hayes  electors  ineligible  because  an  office-holder,  giving  a 
certificate  to  Cronin,  the  highest  Tilden  elector,  instead.  The 
other  two  Hayes  electors  refused  to  recognize  Cronin,  and, 
associating  with  them  the  rejected  Republican  elector,  pre 
sented  a  certificate  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  Cronin, 
as  the  Republican  papers  had  it,  "flocked  all  by  himself," 
appointed  two  new  electors  to  act  with  him,  and  cast  his  vote 
for  Tilden,  though  his  associates  voted  for  Hayes.  The  Cro 
nin  certificate  was  signed  by  the  Governor  and  attested  by  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

After  deciding  not  to  go  behind  any  returns  that  were 


THE  TILDEN-HAYES  IMBKOGLIO.  187 

formally  lawful,  the  Commission,  by  a  strict  party  vote  of 
eight  to  seven,  decided  for  the  Hayes  electors  in  every  case. 
Whether  the  result  would  have  been  different  if  Justice 
Davis  had  been  the  fifth  justice  in  the  Commission  is  a  ques 
tion  that  must  always  remain  open.  By  no  utterance  of 
Mr.  Davis  was  there  ever  an  indication  of  what  his  action 
would  have  been,  but  he  had  a  high  opinion  of  Mr.  Tilden, 
and  his  political  sympathies  were  known  by  his  intimate 
friends  to  have  been  on  the  side  of  the  Democrats.  The 
Commission  adjourned  March  2d.  The  same  day,  "the 
counting  of  the  votes  having  been  concluded,  Senator  Wil 
liam  B.  Allison,  one  of  the  tellers  on  the  part  of  the  Senate, 
in  the  presence  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  announced,  as  a 
result  of  the  footings,  that  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  had  received 
185  votes  for  President,  and  William  A.  Wheeler  185  votes 
for  Vice-President ;  and  thereupon  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
Convention  of  the  two  Houses  declared  Rutherford  B.  Hayes 
to  have  been  elected  President,  and  William  A.  Wheeler 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States  for  four  years  from  the 
4th  day  of  March,  1877."  Hayes  was  inaugurated  without 
disturbance. 

For  this  outcome,  owing  to  the  determining  position 
which  he  held  on  the  Commission,  Mr.  Justice  Bradley  was 
made  to  bear  wholly  unmerited  censure.  The  fault  lay  not 
in  him  but  elsewhere.  Vicious  State  laws  were  to  blame  for 
giving  judicial  powers  to  partisan  returning  boards,  and  for 
otherwise  opening  the  door  to  confusion  and  fraud ;  but  Con 
gress  was  the  worst  sinner,  failing  to  pass  a  law  to  forestall 
the  difficulty  of  rival  certificates. 

The  Commission  having  decided,  the  whole  country 
heaved  a  sigh  of  relief;  but  all  agreed  that  provision  must 
be  made  against  such  peril  in  the  future.  An  Electoral 
Count  Bill  was  passed  late  in  1886,  and  signed  by  the  Presi 
dent,  February '3,  1887.  It  aimed  to  throw  upon  each  State, 
so  far  as  possible,  the  responsibility  of  determining  its  own 
vote.  The  President  of  the  Senate  opens  the  electoral  cer 
tificates  in  the  presence  of  both  Houses  and  hands  them  to 


188  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tellers,  two  from  each  House,  who  read  them  aloud  and 
record  the  votes.  If  there  is  no  dispute  touching  the  list  of 
electors  from  a  State,  such  list,  being  certified  in  due  form, 
is  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course.  In  case  of  dispute,  the 
procedure  is  somewhat  complex,  but  quite  thorough.  It  will 
be  set  forth  with  some  detail  in  Chapter  XIII. 


HAYES   AND  THE   CIVIL  SERVICE.  189 


CHAPTEE    IX. 

HAYES  AXD  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

Hayes's  Character — His  Cabinet — End  of  Bayonet  Rule  at  the  South 
—This  the  Result  of  a  "Deal" — ''Visiting  Statesmen"  at  the 
Louisiana  Count — Hayes  Favors  Honesty — His  Record — Hayes 
and  Garfield  Compared — The  Spoils  System — Early  Protests — A 
Civil  Service  Commission — Its  Rules — Retrogression  under  Grant 
— Jewell's  Exit  from  the  Cabinet — Hoar's — Butler's  "Pull"  on 
Grant — Collector  Simmons — The  Sanborn  Contracts — Bristow  a 
Reformer — The  Whiskey  Ring — Myron  Colony's  Work — Plot  and 
Counter-Plot — "Let  no  Guilty  Man  Escape" — Reformers  Ousted 
— Good  Work  by  the  Press — The  "Press-Gag" — First  Democratic 
House  Since  the  War  —  Hayes  Renews  Reform  —  Opposed  by 
Conkling — Fight  over  the  New  York  Collectorship — The  Presi 
dent  Firm  and  Victorious. 

PARTLY  the  mode  of  his  accession  to  office  and  partly 
the  rage  of  selfish  placemen  who  could  no  longer  have  their 
way,  made  it  fashionable  for  a  time  to  speak  of  President 
Hayes  as  a  "weak  man."  This  was  an  entire  error.  His 
Administration  was  in  every  way  one  of  the  most  creditable 
in  all  our  history.  He  had  a  resolute  will,  irreproachable 
integrity,  and  a  comprehensive  and  remarkably  healthy  view 
of  public  affairs.  Moreover,  he  was  free  from  that  "last 
infirmity,"  the  consuming  ambition  which  has  snared  so 
many  able  statesmen.  He  voluntarily  banished  the  allur 
ing  prospect  of  a  second  term,  and  rose  above  all  jealousy 
of  his  distinguished  associates.  !Never  have  our  foreign  af 
fairs  been  more  ably  handled  than  by  his  State  Secretary. 
His  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  triumphantly  steered  our  bark 
into  the  safe  harbor  of  resumption,  breakers  roaring  this 
side  and  that,  near  at  hand.  In  his  appointments  as  wrell  as 
his  other  official  duties  Hayes  acted  for  himself,  with  becom 
ing  independence  even  of  his  Cabinet.  On  one  occasion,  as 
he  was  announcing  certain  appointments  connected  with  the 


190  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

State  Department,  Secretary  Evarts  looked  up  in  surprise, 
evidently  hearing  the  names  for  the  first  time.  "Mr.  Presi 
dent,"  said  he,  -with  veiled  irony,  "I  have  never  had  the 
good  fortune  to  see  the  'great  western  reserve'  of  Ohio,  of 
which  we  have  heard  so  much."  That  Hayes  was  such  men's 
real  and  not  their  mere  nominal  chief,  in  naught  dims  their 
fame,  though  heightening  his. 

True  to  his  avowed  principles,  President  Hayes  had  made 
up  his  Cabinet  of  the  ablest  men,  disregarding  party  so  far 
as  to  select  for  Postmaster-General  a  Democrat,  David  M. 
Key,  of  Tennessee.  William  M.  Evarts  was  Secretary  of 
State;  John  Sherman,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  Carl 
Schurz,  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  The  first  important  act 
of  his  Administration  was  to  invite  the  rival  Governors  of 
South  Carolina,  Hampton  and  Chamberlain,  to  a  conference 
at  Washington.  It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Chamber 
lain  became  Governor  his  integrity  awakened  the  hate  of  his 
old  supporters,  while  his  former  antagonists  smothered  him 
with  embraces.  The  hate  was  more  enduring  than  the  love. 
Good  government  was  restored,  but  this  wras  purely  an  execu 
tive  reform,  which  the  vulgar  majority  ridiculed  as  a  weak 
ness.  Race  antipathy  still  rankled,  for  Governor  Chamber 
lain  would  not  yield  an  inch  as  a  defender  of  the  negro's 
political  and  civil  rights.  The  Democratic  successes  of  1874 
in  the  country  at  large  inspired  the  South  Carolina  Demo 
crats  with  the  wildest  zeal.  Wade  Hampton,  "the  Murat  of 
the  Confederacy,"  dashing,. fervid,  eloquent,  the  Confederate 
veterans'  idol,  was  nominated  for  Governor.  The  party 
which  elected  Chamberlain  was  forced  to  renominate  him. 
The  pressure  of  official  patronage  was  used  to  this  end,  and  it 
was  known  that  he  alone  among  Republicans  could  preserve 
the  State  from  a  reign  of  terror. 

The  whites  rallied  to  Hampton  with  delirious  enthusi 
asm.  "South  Carolina  for  South  Carolinians !"  was  their 
cry.  White  rifle  clubs  were  organized  in  many  localities,  but 
the  Governor  disbanded  them  as  unsafe  and  called  in  United 
States  troops  to  preserve  order.  In  the  white  counties  the 


HAYES  AND  THE   CIVIL  SERVICE.  191 

negroes  were  cowed,  but  elsewhere  they  displayed  fanatical 
activity.  If  the  white  could  shoot,  the  black  could  set  fire  to 
property.  Thus  crime  and  race  hostility  increased  once  more 
to  an  appalling  extent.  The  Hamburg  massacre,  where 
helpless  negro  prisoners  were  murdered,  was  offset  by  the 
Charleston  riot,  where  black  savages  shot  or  beat  every  white 
man  who  appeared  on  the  streets.  The  course  of  events  in 
Louisiana  had  been  similar,  though  marked  by  less  violence. 
Nicholls  was  the  Democratic  aspirant,  and  S.  B.  Packard  the 
Republican.  Both  were  in  earnest,  and,  if  Federal  forces 
were  to  be  kept  in.  use  as  a  Southern  police,  the  conflict  bade 
fair  to  last  forever.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  Even  President 
Grant  had  now  changed  his  view  of  the  Southern  situation, 
stating  frankly  "that  he  did  not  believe  public  opinion  would 
longer  support  the  maintenance  of  State  governments  in 
Louisiana  by  the  use  of  the  military,  and  that  he  must  concur 
in  this  manifest  feeling." 

President  Hayes  withdrew  Federal  support  from  the 
South  Carolina  and  Louisiana  governments,  and  they  at 
once  fell.  Many  Republicans  fiercely  criticised  this  policy. 
Some  said  that  by  failing  to  support  the  governments  based 
upon  the  canvass  of  the  very  returning  boards  that  gave  him 
the  electoral  delegations  in  the  two  States  named,  he  im 
peached  his  own  title.  This  was  untrue.  With  regard  to 
State  officers,  the  judicial  powers  of  the  returning  boards 
were  clearly  usurpations,  contrary  to  the  State  constitutions, 
while,  as  to  Federal  officers,  such  as  electors,  the  power  of  the 
boards  to  modify  or  reject  returns  was  independent  of  the 
State  constitutions,  yet  not  forbidden  by  any  Federal  law. 

As  the  old  "Cincinnati  Commercial"  once  expressed  it, 
Haj^es  was  "good,  but  not  goody-good."  He  was  no  mere 
idealist,  no  doctrinaire,  but  a  practical  though  honorable  man 
of  affairs.  The  new  "deal"  in  the  South  was  probably  due 
to  an  understanding  arrived  at  before  the  electoral  count,  and 
shared  by  the  President-elect,  though  F.  H.  Wines  and  others 
among  Hayes's  warmest  friends  denied  that  he  was  privy  to 
it  In  the  Charleston  "JSTews  and  Courier"  under  date  of 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

June  20,  1893,  Hon.  D.  H.  Chamberlain  showed  that,  while 
the  proceeding  was  not  necessarily  corrupt,  and  was  probably 
the  part  of  good  politics  and  even  of  statesmanship,  Hayes 
was  certainly  party  to  a  "bargain,"  agreeing  to  remove  troops 
from  South  Carolina  in  case  he  was  permitted  to  be  seated, 
Chamberlain  said:  "While  Hayes  did  not  expressly  promise 
to  remove  the  troops,  he  did  by  speech  or  by  failing  to  speak 
give  sufficient  assurance  to  the  'shrewd,  .  long-headed  men' 
with  whom  he  was  dealing  to  warrant  them  in  supporting  his 
claim  to  the  Presidency  on  so  tremendous  an  issue  to  the 
South."  "Hayes's  friends  assembled,  met  the  ' shrewd,  long 
headed  men'  of  the  South,  negotiated,  winked,  and  nodded, 
and  finally  gave  the  express  promise  which  the  South  de 
manded.  Hayes  knew  it  all.  He  did  not  contradict  his 
friends.  He  accepted  his  seat,  secured  to  him  by  the  attitude 
of  the  South.  He  removed  the  troops.  Here  was  a  bargain 
in  all  its  elements." 

Unless  this  understanding  may  be  considered  such,  Mr. 
Hayes  had  no  part  in  any  of  the  devices  by  which  he  was 
placed  in  the  Presidential  chair.  When  Senator  Edmunds 
introduced  the  Electoral  Commission  Bill,  Hayes  viewed  it 
with  no  favor.  He  did  not  regard  the  Commission  as  consti 
tutional,  but  considered  the  duty  of  Congress  in  reference  to 
counting  the  electoral  ballots  to  be  purely  ministerial.  The 
same  as  to  post-election  proceedings  in  the  South.  The 
prominent  Republicans  who  visited  New  Orleans  to  witness 
the  canvass  of  the  Louisiana  Presidential  vote  did  so  solely 
at  the  instance  of  President  Grant.  From  Ohio  went  John 
Sherman,  Stanley  Matthews,  J.  A.  Garfield,  and  Job  E. 
Stevenson.  Erom  Iowa  went  J.  M.  Tuttle,  J.  W.  Chapman, 
W.  E.  Smith,  and  W.  A.  McGrew;  from  Illinois,  C.  B.  Far- 
well,  Abner  Taylor,  S.  E.  Haven,  and  J.  M.  Beardsley; 
from  ISTew  York,  E.  W.  Stoughton  and  J.  H.  Van  Alen; 
from  Indiana,  John  Coburn  and  Will  Cumback ;  from  Penn 
sylvania,  William  D.  Kelley;  from  Kansas,  Sidney  Clarke; 
from  Maryland,  C.  Irving  Ditty;  from  Maine,  Eugene 
Hale. 


HAYES  AND  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE.  193 

Not  only  had  Governor  Hayes  nothing  to  do  with  the 
origination  of  this  ambassage,  but  when  it  was  in  function  he 
urged  that  it  should  be  guilty  of  no  abuse.  From  Columbus, 
Ohio,  November  27,  1876,  he  wrote:  "A  fair  election  would 
have  given  us  about  forty  electoral  votes  at  the  South — at 
least  that  many.  But  we  are  not  to  allow  our  friends  to  de 
feat  one  outrage  and  fraud  by  another.  There  must  be  noth 
ing  crooked  on  our  part.  Let  Mr.  Tilden  have  the  place 
by  violence,  intimidation  and  fraud,  rather  than  undertake  to 
prevent  it  by  means  that  will  not  bear  the  severest  scrutiny." 
Even  had  Mr.  Hayes  wished  fraud  it  is  hard  to  see  how, 
under  the  circumstances,  he  could  have  procured  or  in 
duced  such;  for  watchers  for  the  Democratic  party  were 
also  at  the  count:  from  Indiana,  J.  E.  McDonald,  George 
W.  Julian,  M.  D.  Manson,  and  John  Love;  from  Illinois, 
John  M.  Palmer,  Lyman  Trumbull,  and  William  R.  Morri 
son  ;  from  Pennsylvania,  Samuel  J.  Randall,  A.  G.  Curtin, 
and  William  Bigler ;  from  Kentucky,  Henry  Watterson,  J. 
W.  Stevenson,  and  Henry  D.  McHenry;  from  Wisconsin, 
J.  R.  Doolittle  and  George  B.  Smith;  from  Ohio,  J.  B. 
Stallo  and  P.  H.  Watson ;  from  New  York,  Oswald  Otten- 
dorfer  and  F.  R.  Coudert ;  from  Missouri,  Louis  V.  Bogy, 
James  O.  Broadhead,  and  C.  Gibson ;  from  Maryland,  John 
Lee  Carroll  and  William  T.  Hamilton ;  from  Connecticut, 
Professor  W.  G.  Sumner.  Upon  invitation  of  the  Return 
ing  Board,  five  of  the  Democratic  "visitors,"  as  well  as  a  like 
number  of  the  Republicans,  attended  the  several  sessions 
of  the  Board  to  watch.  The  proceedings  were  thrice  re 
ported,  once  for  the  Board  itself  and  once  for  each  body  of 
the  Northern  guests.  The  evidence  taken  and  the  acts  per 
formed  were  published  by  Congress.  Senator  Sherman  felt 
"bound,  after  a  long  lapse  of  time,  to  repeat  what  was  re 
ported  to  General  Grant  by  the  Republican  visitors,  that 
the  Returning  Board  in  Louisiana  made  a  fair,  honest,  and 
impartial  return  of  the  result  of  the  election."  Sherman 
wrote  Hayes  at  the  time :  "That  you  would  have  received,  at 
a  fair  election,  a  large  majority  in  Louisiana,  no  honest  man 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.— 9. 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

can  question ;  that  you  did  not  receive  a  majority  is  equally 
clear."  1  Some  pretended  to  think  that  if  Hayes  had  the 
slightest  doubt  touching  the  legitimacy  of  any  proceedings 
resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  seating  him  he  ought  not  to 
have  accepted  the  Presidency.  Such  failed  to  bear  in  mind 
that  the  country  was  then  at  a  crisis,  and  that  Mr.  Hayes's 
refusal  of  the  Presidency  would  in  all  probability  have  re 
sulted  in  anarchy  and  war.  His  acceptance,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  was  therefore  clearly  his  duty,  whatever  he 
thought  of  antecedent  procedure. 

Mr.  Sherman  believed  "that  the  nomination  of  Hayes 
was  not  only  the  safest,  but  the  strongest  that  could  be  made. 
The  long  possession  of  power  by  the  Kepublicans  naturally 
produced  rivalries  that  greatly  affected  the  election  of  any 
one  who  had  been  constantly  prominent  irf  public  life,  like 
Elaine,  Conkling,  and  Morton.  Hayes  had  growing  quali 
ties,  and  in  every  respect  was  worthy  of  the  high  position 
of  President,  He  had  been  a  soldier,  a  member  of  Congress, 
thrice  elected  as  Governor  of  Ohio,  an  admirable  executive 
officer,  and  his  public  and  private  record  was  beyond  ques 
tion.  He  was  not  an  aggressive  man,  although  firm  in  his 
opinions  and  faithful  in  his  friendships.  Among  all  the 
public  men  with  whom  I  have  been  brought  in  contact,  I 
have  known  none  who  was  freer  from  personal  objection, 
whose  character  was  more  stainless,  who  was  better  adapted 
for  a  high  executive  office." 

"There  was  a  striking  contrast  between  the  personal  quali 
ties  of  Garfield  and  Hayes.  Hayes  was  a  modest  man,  but 
a  very  able  one.  He  had  none  of  the  brilliant  qualities  of 
his  successor,  but  his  judgment  was  always  sound,  and  his 
opinion,  when  once  formed,  was  stable  and  consistent.  .  .  . 
During  his  entire  term,  our  official  and  personal  relations 
were  not  only  cordial,  but  as  close  and  intimate  as  those  of 
brothers  could  be.  I  never  took  an  important  step  in  the 
process  of  resumption  and  refunding  .  .  .  without  consult- 

JJohn  Sherman's  "Recollections,"  p.  557. 


HAYES  AND  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE.  195 

ing  him.  .  .  .  Early  in  his  Administration  we  formed  the 
habit  of  taking  long  drives  on  each  Sunday  afternoon  in  the 
environs  of  Washington.  He  was  a  regular  attendant  with 
Mrs.  Hayes,  every  Sunday  morning,  at  the  Methodist  Epis 
copal  Church,  of  which  she  was  a  member.  This  duty  being, 
done,  we  felt  justified  in  seeking  the  seclusion  of  the  country 
for  long  talks  about  current  measures  and  policy." 

Mr.  Hayes  came  to  the  Presidency  at  a  very  critical 
time.  The  financial  situation  of  the  country,  the  still  unset 
tled  state  of  affairs  at  the  South,  faction,  rebellion,  and  greed 
for  official  spoils  within  his  own  party,  called  upon  the  new 
Chief  Magistrate  for  skill  and  resolution  such  as  few  men  in 
his  place  could  have  supplied.  Mr.  Hayes  responded  nobly 
and  successfully.  He  triumphed  in  a  task  which  the  ablest  and 
purest  political  leaders  have  always  found  so  hard:  he  re 
pressed  corruption  in  his  own  party.  Under  President  Hayes 
the  systematic  prostitution  of  our  public  offices  for  partisan 
and  private  purposes  was,  if  not  definitely  ended,  so  dis 
couraged  that  it  has  never  since  recovered  its  old  shameless- 
ness.  In  this  those  years  form  an  epoch  in  the  Nation's 
history. 

Ever  since  the  days  of  President  Jackson,  in  1829,  ap 
pointments  to  the  minor  Federal  offices  had  been  used  for  the 
payment  of  party  debts  and  to  keep  up  partisan  interest. 
Though  this  practice  had  incurred  the  deep  condemnation  of 
Webster,  Clay,  Calhoun,  and  all  the  best  men  in  public  life, 
it  did  not  cease,  but  prevailed  more  and  more.  So  early  as 
1853  pass  examinations  had  been  made  prerequisite  to  enter 
ing  the  civil  service,  but  the  regulation  had  amounted  to 
nothing.  President  Lincoln  once  inquired  where  he  could 
get  the  small-pox.  "For,"  said  he,  "then  I  should  have 
something  I  could  give  to  everybody."  The  honor  of  being 
the  first  to  make  a  systematic  endeavor  against  the  spoils 
abuse  belongs  to  the  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Jenckes,  a  representa 
tive  in  Congress  from  Rhode  Island  between  March,  1863, 

1  John  Sherman's  "Recollections,"  pp.  550,  551,  807. 


196  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  March,  1871.  Beginning  in  1865,  Mr.  Jenckes,  so  long 
as  he  continued  in  Congress,  annually  introduced  in  the 
House  a  bill  "to  regulate  the  civil  service  of  the  United 
States."  Early  in  1866  Senator  B.  Gratz  Brown,  of  Mis 
souri,  also  undertook  to  get  the  "spoils  system'7  superseded 
by  the  "merit  system."  No  success  attended  these  efforts. 

In  1870-71  reform  in  the  civil  service  almost  became 
an  issue.  It  was  one  of  the  three  cardinal  principles  of  the 
Liberal  Republicans,  was  an  item  in  the  "New  Departure" 
made  by  the  Democrats  that  year,  received  compliments, 
more  or  less  sincere,  from  politicians  of  all  stripes,  and,  in 
1872,  was  recognized  for  the  first  time  in  all  the  party  plat 
forms.  On  March  3,  1871,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing 
the  President,  through  a  commission  to  be  appointed  by  him 
self,  to  ascertain  "the  fitness  of  candidates  as  to  age,  health, 
character,  knowledge,  and  ability,  by  examination,"  and  to 
prescribe  regulations  for  the  conduct  of  appointees.  The 
President  that  year  appointed  a  commission,  George  William 
Curtis  its  chairman.  On  December  19th  he  sent  a  message 
to  Congress,  transmitting  the  report  of  the  commissioners, 
together  with  the  rules  submitted  by  them  in  relation  to  the 
appointment,  promotion,  and  conduct  of  persons  filling  the 
offices  covered  by  the  law. 

These  rules  provided  that  each  applicant  should  furnish 
evidence  as  to  his  character,  health,  and  age,  and  should 
pass  a  satisfactory  examination  in  speaking,  reading,  and  writ 
ing  the  English  language.  Positions  were  to  be  grouped  and 
graded,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  work,  admission  to  the 
civil  service  always  introducing  the  candidate  to  the  lowest 
group.  Public  competitive  examinations  were  to  be  insti 
tuted,  and  a  list  of  examinees  made  up  and  kept  on  record, 
with  the  order  of  their  excellence.  Each  appointment  was 
to  be  made  from  the  three  leading  eligibles.  Admission  to 
a  group  above  the  lowest  could  be  had  only  by  one  of  three 
candidates  from  the  next  lower  grade  who  stood  highest  in  a 
competitive  examination.  An  applicant  for  a  place  of  trust 
where  another  officer  was  responsible  for  his  fidelity  could 


HAYES  AND   THE   CIVIL  SERVICE.  197" 

not  be  appointed  without  the  approval  of  such  officer;  and 
postmasterships  yielding  less  than  two  hundred  dollars  a  year 
were  not  placed  under  the  rule.  With  some  exceptions,  nota 
bly  of"  postmasters  and  consuls,  appointments  were  to  be  pro 
bationary  for  a  term  of  six  months.  Best  of  all  the  regu 
lations  presented  was  the  following:  "!No  head  of  a  depart 
ment  or  any  subordinate  officer  of  the  Government  shall,  as 
such  officer,  authorize  or  assist  in  levying  any  assessment  of 
money  for  political  purposes,  under  the  form  of  voluntary 
contributions  or  otherwise,  upon  any  person  employed  under 
his  control,  nor  shall  any  such  person  pay  any  money  so  as 
sessed."  Higher  officials  and  some  others  were,  however,  ex- 
cepted  from  the  operation  of  this  rule. 

President  Grant  reported  that  the  new  methods  "had 
given  persons  of  superior  capacity  to  the  service" ;  yet  Con 
gress,  always  niggardly  in  its  appropriations  for  the  Com 
mission's  work,  in  1875  made  no  appropriation  at  all,  so 
that  the  rules  were  perforce  suspended.  Ardor  for  spoils 
was  not  the  sole  cause  of  this.  Many  friends  of  reform 
thought  the  new  system,  as  it  had  been  begun,  too  stiff  and 
bookish,  too  little  practical;  nor  could  such  a  view  be  de 
clared  wholly  mistaken.  Intelligent  labor-leaders,  it  was 
found,  usually  opposed  the  reform  in  that  shape,  as  it  would 
exclude  themselves  and  all  but  the  most  favored  of  their 
children  from  public  office. 

Unfortunately,  the  President  cared  as  little  as  Congress 
for  a  pure  civil  service.  This  was  everywhere  apparent.  It 
can  not  be  ignored  that  Grant's  second  Administration  was 
shamefully  weak  and  corrupt.  aThe  very  obstinacy  of  tem 
per  which  made  him  so  formidable  in  the  field,  now,  when 
combined  with  the  self-confidence  bred  by  his  re-election  and 
the  flattery  of  his  adherents,  not  only  made  him  impervious 
to  public  opinion,  but  made  all  criticism  of  him  seem  an  act 
of  insolent  hostility,  to  bo  punished  or  defied."  Charles 
Francis  Adams  quoted  it  as  the  opinion  of  a  Republican, 
he  thought  Evarts,  during  Grant's  second  four  years,  that 
"the  Republican  party  was  like  an  army,  the  term  of  en- 


198  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

listment  of  which  had  expired."  It  was  a  happy  simile. 
Straggling  was  common,  complaints  were  numerous,  and 
mutiny  had  begun.  Summary,  worse  than  military,  methods 
of  appointment,  and  dismissal  were  employed. 

In  respect  to  the  .manner  of  Jewell's  resignation,  the 
story  went — believed  to  be  on  the  authority  of  Yice-President 
Wilson — that  Grant  and  Jewell  were  alone  together,  talking 
over  matters,  when,  without  any  previous  suggestion  of  the 
subject,  the  President  said:  "Jewell,  how  do  you  suppose 
your  resignation  would  look  written  out?"  Thinking  or 
affecting  to  think  the  question  a  joke  of  Grant's,  Jewell  said 
he  would  write  it  and  see.  "All  right,"  said  Grant,  "you 
just  take  some  paper  and  write  it  down  and  see  how  it 
looks."  Jewell  wrote  and  handed  the  paper  to  Grant.  The 
President  eyed  it  a  moment  and  then  remarked :  "That  looks 
well.  I  will  accept  that."  He  was  in  earnest,  and  on  July 
11,  1876,  Jewell  was  out  of  the  Cabinet.  Verisimilitude  is 
lent  this  account  by  the  known  abruptness  with  which  Judge 
Hoar  was  ejected  from  the  office  of  Attorney-General.  He 
was  sitting  in  his  room,  bent  upon  the  business  of  his  office, 
absolutely  without  a  hint  of  what  was  coming,  when  a  mes 
senger  entered  with  a  letter  from  Grant.  It  contained  the 
naked  statement  that  the  President  found  himself  under  the 
necessity  of  asking  for  Mr.  Hoar's  resignation.  "No  ex 
planation  of  any  kind  was  given,  nor  reason  assigned.  The 
request  was  as  curt  and  as  direct  as  possible.  A  thunder 
clap  could  not  have  been  more  startling." 

Benjamin  F.  Butler  obtained  great  power  with  Grant, 
which  immensely  aided  him  in  "capturing"  the  Massachu 
setts  governorship.  Patronage  was  liberally  accorded  him. 
"In  every  town  and  village  a  circle  was  formed  round  the 
postmaster,  the  collector,  or  some  other  Government  officer, 
who  was  moved  by  the  hope  of  personal  gain.  Not  a  man 
who  wished  for  place  or  had  a  job  on  hand  but  added  to  their 
numbers."  Poiled  at  two  elections,  Butler  was  not  in  the 
least  daunted,  but  spurred  to  renewed  exertion,  sure  that  the 
powers  at  Washington  would  deny  him  nothing.  At  last 


HAYES   AND   THE   CIVIL  SEKVICE,  199 

"Mr.  Simmons,  who,  in  a  subordinate  position,  had  particu 
larly  distinguished  himself  in  the  management  of  the  last 
canvass,  was  promoted  by  the  President  to  the  Collectorship 
of  Boston,  in  the  hope  that  the  most  important  national 
office  in  New  England  might  offer  a  fitting  sphere  of  action 
for  his  peculiar  abilities."  Even  a  Republican  Convention 
had  rebuked  this  man  for  his  unendurable  officiousness  as  a 
political  boss.  "Harper's  Weekly"  for  March  21,  1874, 
said :  "Xo  recent  political  event  is  comparable  in  the  excite 
ment  it  has  caused  to  the  appointment  of  the  Boston  Col 
lector.  The  situation  every  day  forces  upon  the  most  unwav 
ering  Republicans  the  question,  When  will  it  be  necessary 
for  our  honor  as  men  and  patriots  to  oppose  the  party  ?" 

In  1874,  public  wrath  was  aroused  by  the  exposure  of 
the  "Sanborn  Contracts,"  made  in  1872,  between  the  Hon. 
William  A.  Richardson,  then  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  subsequently  promoted  to  Mr.  BoutwelPs  seat  in  the 
Cabinet,  and  Mr.  John  D.  Sanborn,  giving  Sanborn  the  right 
to  collect  for  the  Treasury,  "share  and  share  alike,"  taxes 
which  were  already  collected  by  regular  officers  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  Such  officers  were  not  only  directed  not  to  inter 
fere  with  Mr.  Sanborn,  but  bidden  to  co-operate  with  him. 
By  March,  1874,  less  than  two  years,  this  profitable  arrange 
ment  had  paid  Sanborn  over  $200,000.  Morally  indefensi 
ble  as  it  was,  it  seems  to  have  been  legal.  The  House  Com 
mittee  of  Ways  and  Means  examined  into  the  case.  Unable, 
on  the  evidence  adduced,  exactly  to  fix  the  responsibility  of 
making  the  contracts,  the  committee  could  not  "in  justice  to 
itself  ignore  the  fact"  that  three  persons,  Richardson,  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  the  Assistant  Secretary,  and  the  Solici 
tor  of  the  Treasury,  "deserved  severe  condemnation  for  the 
manner  in  which  they  permitted  this  law  to  be  adminis 
tered."  The  committee,  however,  found  no  fact  on  which 
to  base  a  belief  that  any  of  these  officers  had  acted  from 
wrong  motives.  It  recommended  repealing  the  law  and  the 
annulment  of  all  contracts  made  under  it.  Mr.  Richard 
son's  resignation  was  soon  after  reluctantly  accepted  by  the 


200  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

President,  and  his  'nomination  to  the  Court  of  Claims  con 
firmed  with  equal  reluctance  by  the  Senate.  Hon.  B.  H. 
Bristow,  of  Kentucky,  siicceeded  him  in  the  Treasury. 

The  new  Secretary  at  once  bent  his  attention  to  reorgan 
izing  and  improving  the  customs  and  internal  revenue  ser 
vice.  His  fearless  removals  and  searching  investigations 
soon  stirred  the  venomous  hostility  of  various  corrupt  cliques 
which  had  been  basking  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  Treasury. 
There  were  the  instigators  of  the  Safe-Burglary  frauds,  of 
the  Seal-Lock  frauds,  and  of  the  Subsidy  frauds,  besides  jeal 
ous,  chagrined  and  corrupt  officials;  but  most  formidable  of 
all,  and  in  a  sense,  at  the  head  of  all,  was  the  Whiskey  King. 
It  was  patent  from  statistics  that  the  United  States  had,  by 
1874,  in  St.  Louis  alone,  lost  at  least  $1,200,000  of  the  rev 
enue  which  it  should  have  received  from  whiskey,  yet  special 
agents  of  the  Treasury  set  to  work  from  time  to  time  had 
failed  to  do  more  than  cause  an  occasional  flurry  among  the 
thieves.  The  guilty  parties  were  somehow  always  effectively 
forewarned  and  forearmed  against  any  effort  to  punish  or 
identify  them.  The  Ring  seemed  to  have  eyes,  ears,  and 
hands  in  every  room  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Department, 
in  the  Secretary's  office,  and  even  in  the  Executive  Mansion. 

The  Whiskey  Ring  was  organized  in  St.  Louis,  when 
the  Liberal  Republicans  there  achieved  their  first  success. 
It  occurred  to  certain  politicians  to  have  the  revenue  officers 
raise  a  campaign  fund  among  the  distillers.  This  idea  the 
officers  modified  later,  raising  money  in  the  same  way  for 
themselves,  and  in  return  conniving  at  the  grossest  thiev 
ery.  As  it  became  necessary  to  hide  the  frauds,  newspapers 
and  higher  officials  were  hushed,  till  the  Ring  assumed  na 
tional  dimensions.  Its  headquarters  were  at  St.  Louis,  but 
it  had  branches  at  Milwaukee,  Chicago,  Peoria,  Cincinnati, 
and  ISTew  Orleans.  It  had  an  agent  at  Washington.  A  huge 
corruption  fund  was  distributed  among  gangers,  storekeep 
ers,  collectors,  and  other  officials,  according  to  a  fixed  sched 
ule  of  prices.  Subordinate  officers  were  not  merely  tempted 
to  become  parties,  but  were  even  obliged  to  do  so  on  penalty 


HAYES  AND  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE.  201 

of  losing  their  places.  Honest  distillers  and  rectifiers  were 
hounded  with  false  accusations  and  caught  in  technical 
frauds,  till  their  choice  seemed  to  lie  between  ruin  and  alli 
ance  with  the  Ring.  One  or  two  inquirers  peculiarly  per 
sistent  were  assaulted  and  left  for  dead.  They  besought  the 
Government  for  speedy  relief,  threatening,  unless  it  was 
granted  them,  to  expose  the  corrupt  intimacy  between  the 
Internal  Revenue  Bureau  and  the  Ring.  So  potent  had  the 
organization  grown  that  the  politicians  persuaded  Grant, 
"for  the  party's  sake,"  to  countermand,  though  he  had  at 
first  approved,  Bristow's  order  directing  a  general  transfer 
of  supervisors,  as  such  transfer  would  have  thrown  the 
thieves'  machine  out  of  adjustment. 

At  length,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  George  Fish- 
back,  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  "Democrat,"  the  reform  Secre 
tary  appointed  Mr.  Myron  Colony,  of  St.  Louis,  a  special 
agent  to  unearth  the  frauds,  with  the  co-operation  of  Bluford 
Wilson,  the  Solicitor  of  the  Treasury.  One  of  the  conditions 
upon  which  Mr.  Colony  accepted  his  grave  and  difficult 
charge  was  that  of  perfect  secrecy.  The  first  plan  was  to 
ascertain  by  means  of  detectives  the  amount  of  grain  carted 
into  the  distilleries,  with  the  amount  of  whiskey  shipped  to 
rectifying-houses  or  elsewhere,  and  to  establish  the  fact  of 
illegal  nocturnal  distillation — for  the  law  allowed  but  one 
distillation  every  seventy-two  hours.  This  effort  the  guilty 
parties  discovered  and  opposed,  midnight  combats  taking 
place  between  the  burly  detectives  and  ruffians  hired  to  fight 
them.  That  line  of  attack  was  finally  abandoned,  but  not 
till  valuable  evidence  had  been  secured. 

The  next  move  was  as  follows :  Under  pretext  of  gather 
ing  commercial  statistics,  a  work  which,  as  financial  editor  of 
the  "Democrat"  and  as  Secretary  of  the  St.  Louis  Board  of 
Trade,  Mr.  Colony  had  often  done,  and  could,  of  course,  do 
without  suspicion,  he  obtained,  at  landings  and  freight  de 
pots,  copies  of  bills  of  lading  that  showed  all  the  shipments 
of  staple  articles,  including  whiskey,  to  or  from  St.  Louis, 
Chicago,  and  Milwaukee.  The  record  gave  the  names  of 


202  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  shippers  and  the  consignees,  the  number  of  gallons  and 
the  serial  number — never  duplicated — of  the  revenue  stamps 
on  each  and  every  package.  The  discrepancies  between  these 
way-bills  and  the  official  records  furnished  to  the  Internal 
Revenue  Office  showed  conclusively  the  extent  of  the  frauds 
and  the  identity  of  the  culprits.  From  July  1,  1874,  to  May 
1,  1875,  no  less  than  $1,650,000  had  been  diverted  from  the 
Government  till. 

The  illicit  distillers  lay  quite  still  while  the  toils  were 
woven  around  them.  They  were  aware  of  the  Secretary's 
enmity  and  cordially  reciprocated  it,  but  their  suspicions  had 
been  lulled  by  his  first  retreat.  Moreover,  they  felt  that 
news  of  any  proposed  investigation  would  be  sure  to  reach 
them  from  their  official  correspondents.  They  were  not  pre 
pared  for  an  investigation  conducted  in  the  main  by  private 
citizens,  and  kept  secret  from  the  Department,  which  was  in 
more  intimate  alliance  with  them  than  with  its  own  chief  or 
with  the  people  whom  he  was  serving.  When  little  remained 
but  to  unmask  the  batteries,  a  vague  sense  of  uneasiness  be 
gan  to  express  itself  in  Congressional  and  other  queries  at 
the  Internal  Revenue  Office — which  was  as  blissfully  igno 
rant  as  the  Ring  itself — and  later  at  the  White  House,  where 
it  was  learned  that  investigation  was  indeed  on  foot.  The 
investigators,  too,  were  startled,  after  they  had  fixed  Mon 
day,  May  10th,  as  the  date  for  the  coup,  by  learning  of  a 
telegram  to  St.  Louis  running,  "Lightning  will  strike  Mon 
day  !  Warn  your  friends  in  the  country !"  It  turned  out 
that  this  telegram  was  from  a  gentleman  who  had  been  in 
formed  of  the  purpose  to  strike  on  that  day,  and  had  com 
municated  it  to  a  distilling  firm  in  St.  Louis  hostile  to  the 
Ring. 

Its  torpid  writhings  availed  the  monster  naught.  Equal 
ly  vain  the  pious  preparations  at  once  made  against  a  mere 
raid.  The  traps  set  with  secrecy  and  patience  were  sprung 
simultaneously  in  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  Milwaukee.  Rec 
ords  seized  justified  numerous  arrests  in  nearly  every  leading 
city.  Indictments  were  found  against  one  hundred  and  fifty- 


HAYES  AND  THE   CIVIL  SERVICE.  203 

two  liquor  men  and  other  private  parties,  and  against  eighty- 
six  Government  officials,  among  them  the  chief  clerk  in  the 
Treasury  Department,  and  President  Grant's  Private  Secre 
tary,  General  O.  E.  Babcock.  On  the  back  of  a  letter  from 
St.  Louis,  making  a  charge  or  suggestion  against  Babcock, 
Grant  had  indorsed,  "Let  no  guilty  man  escape. "  Five  or 
six  times  in  the  progress  of  the  case  he  said :  "If  Babcock  is 
guilty  there  is  no  man  who  wants  him  proven  guilty  as  I  do, 
for  it  is  the  greatest  piece  of  traitorism  to  me  that  a  man 
could  possibly  practice."  Still,  Babcock's  prosecutors  com 
plained  that  efforts  were  made  to  transfer  the  case  to  a  mili 
tary  court,  to  deprive  them  of  papers  incriminating  the  Pri 
vate  Secretary,  and  to  prevent  important  testimony  being 
given  by  informers  on  promise  of  immunity.  All  the  prom 
inent  defendants  were  convicted  save  Babcock,  but  three  of 
them  were  pardoned  six  months  later.  After  his  acquittal, 
Babcock  was  dismissed  by  the  President. 

In  the  spring  of  1876,  the  dauntless  Secretary  Bristow 
assaulted  the  California  Whiskey  Ring,  but  here  at  last  he 
was  foiled.  When  the  temperature  rose  to  an  uncomfortable 
degree,  a  Senator  demanded,  and  in  spite  of  the  Secretary 
secured,  the  removal  of  the  more  active  Government  prose 
cutors  in  that  section.  The  retirement  of  Secretary  Bristow 
followed  soon  after.  With  him  went  Solicitor  Wilson,  Com 
missioner  Pratt,  Mr.  Yaryan,  chief  of  revenue  agents,  and 
District- Attorney  Dyer.  The  Treasurer  and  the  First  and 
Fifth  Auditors  of  the  Treasury  also  resigned.  The  whole 
course  of  proceedings  was  embarrassed  by  misunderstandings 
with  the  President,  who  was  misled  into  the  belief  that  his 
own  ruin  and  that  of  his  family  was  sought  by  the  investi 
gators,  especially  by  Bristow,  who,  it  was  whispered,  had 
designs  upon  the  Presidency.  The  President  broke  from 
these  maligners  more  than  once,  but  there  was  enough  in 
the  press,  in  the  popular  applause  with  which  the  prosecu 
tion  was  hailed,  and  in  the  conduct  of  the  trials,  to  renew  his 
suspicions,  to  hinder  the  prosecution  of  the  St.  Louis  Ring, 
and  finally  to  unseat  the  anti-machine  Secretary  himself. 


204  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

This  officer's  retirement  occurred  not  quite  a  month  before 
that  of  Postmaster-General  Jewell. 

Great  credit  was  due  to  the  press  for  its  assistance  in 
discovering  and  exposing  the  whiskey  frauds.  Notwith 
standing  exaggerations  and  errors  here  and  there,  laying 
faults  at  wrong  doors,  its  work  was  praiseworthy  in  the  ex 
treme.  As  the  New  York  "Times"  had  exposed  the  "Tweed 
Ring,"  so  to  the  St.  Louis  newspaper  men  was  due,  in  large 
part,  the  glory  of  bringing  to  light  the  whiskey  iniquity. 
As  in  so  many  other  instances,  the  press  proved  the  terror  of 
unclean  politicians  and  the  reliance  of  the  people.  In  those 
times,  and  in  the  course  of  such  complicated  investigations, 
it  was  inevitable  that  libels  should  occur  and  do  harm.  Nat 
urally,  and  perhaps  justifiably,  Congress  undertook  to  rem 
edy  this  ill  by  amending  the  law  of  libel.  The  debate  over 
the  measure  was  in  great  part  composed  of  philippics  against 
"the  licentious  newspaper."  The  licentious  newspaper  re 
torted  in  the  teeth  of  the  law,  which  was  christened  the 
"Press-Gag  Law."  The  enactment,  too  much  resembling 
the  old  "Sedition  Law,"  was  universally  unpopular,  contrib 
uting  not  a  little  to  the  Democratic  victories  of  1874.  Judge 
Poland,  of  Vermont,  the  chief  sponsor  for  it,  was  defeated  in 
this  election.  As  a  further  consequence  of  it,  in  the  Forty- 
fourth  Congress,  first  session,  meeting  in  1875,  the  National 
House  of  Representatives,  for  the  first  time  since  the  Civil 
War,  had  a  Democratic  majority.  It  was  seventy  strong, 
and  elected  Hon.  Michael  C.  Kerr  Speaker. 

These  paragraphs  perhaps  afford  the  reader  sufficient 
insight  into  the  condition  of  Republican  politics  when  Mr. 
Hayes  became  President;  they  indicate  the  strength  of  the 
evil  tide  which  he  so  resolutely  set  himself  to  turn.  Even 
from  a  party  point  of  view  the  plunder  system  of  party 
politics  had  failed  to  justify  itself.  Yet,  while  his  efforts 
for  reform  were  indorsed  by  thousands  of  the  rank  and  file, 
Hayes  found  himself  strenuously  opposed  by  a  large  and 
powerful  Republican  faction.  As  the  head  and  front  of  this, 
championing  all  that  Grant  had  stood  for,  his  sins  of  omis- 


HAYES  AND  THE   CIVIL  SERVICE.  205 

sion,  and  his  sins  of  commission  alike,  towered  Senator  Ros- 
coe  Conkling,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  most  formidable  per 
sonal  leaders  in  the  grand  old  party.  Though  knowing  of 
this  gentleman's  sure  and  potent  antagonism,  the  President 
did  not  hesitate,  but  early  and  firmly  took  the  bull  by  the 
horns. 

He  touched  the  danger-line  in  removing  Chester  A. 
Arthur  from  the  office  of  Collector  of  the  Port  of  New 
York,  A.  B.  Cornell  from  that  of  Naval  Officer,  and  G-eorge 
II.  Sharpe  from  that  of  Surveyor.  Over  two-thirds  of  the 
nation's  customs  revenue  was  received  at  that  port,  and  its 
administration  could  not  but  be  important.  Numerous 
complaints  having  been  made  concerning  affairs  and  methods 
at  the  port,  a  Commission  was  appointed  in  April,  1877,  to 
make  an  examination.  Its  first  report,  dwelling  on  the  evils 
of  appointments  for  political  reasons  without  due  regard  to 
efficiency,  was  rendered  May  24th,  and  it  recommended  con 
siderably  sweeping  changes.  President  Hayes  concurred 
in  these  recommendations.  He  wrote  Secretary  Sher 
man:  "It  is  my  wish  that  the  collection  of  the  revenues 
should  be  free  from  partisan  control,  and  organized  on  a 
strictly  business  basis,  with  the  same  guarantees  for  effi 
ciency  and  fidelity  in  the  selection  of  the  chief  and  subor 
dinate  officers  that  would  be  required  by  a  prudent  merchant. 
Party  leaders  should  have  no  more  influence  in  appointments 
than  other  equally  respectable  citizens.  No  assessments 
for  political  purposes  on  officers  or  subordinates  should  be 
allowed.  No  useless  officer  or  employee  should  be  retained. 
No  officer  should  be  required  or  permitted  to  take  part  in 
the  management  of  political  organizations,  caucuses,  con 
ventions,  or  election  campaigns.  Their  right  to  vote,  and  to 
express  their  views  on  public  questions,  either  orally  or 
through  the  press,  is  not  denied,  provided  it  does  not  inter 
fere  with  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties." 

Five  more  reports  were  made,  exhibiting  in  all  their 
gravity  the  evils  then  prevalent  in  the  business  of  the  port. 
Twenty  per  cent  of  the  persons  employed  needed  to  be 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

dropped.  Ignorance,  inefficiency,  neglect  of  duty,  dishon 
esty,  inebriety,  bribery,  and  various  other  forms  of  improper 
conduct  were  all  common.  At  first  there  was  no  thought  of 
removing  Arthur  or  Cornell,  but  they  were  seen  to  be  so 
bound  up  with  the  unbusiness-like  system  that  they  must 
fall  with  it.  The  Commissioners  "found  that  for  many 
years  past  the  view  had  obtained  with  some  political  leaders 
that  the  friends  of  the  Administration  in  power  had  a 
right  to  control  the  customs  appointments;  and  this  view, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  acquiesced  in  by  successive  Ad 
ministrations,  had  of  late  been  recognized  to  what  the  Com 
mission  deemed  an  undue  extent  by  the  chief  officer  of  the 
service.  These  gentlemen,  on  the  ground  that  they  were 
compelled  to  surrender  to  personal  and  partisan  dictation, 
appeared  to  have  assumed  that  they  were  relieved,  in  part 
at  least,  from  the  responsibilities  that  belonged  to  the  ap 
pointing  power.7'  The  Administration  became  convinced 
"that  new  officers  would  be  more  likely  to  make  the  radical 
reforms  required/'  that  in  order  to  accomplish  any  thorough 
reform  of  the  Government's  business  methods  at  the  New 
York  port,  the  Collector,  the  Naval  Officer,  and  the  Sur 
veyor  must  either  resign  or  be  removed.  On  September 
6,  1877,  Secretary  Sherman  wrote  his  Assistant  Secretary: 
"After  a  very  full  consideration  and  a  very  kindly  one, 
the  President,  with  the  cordial  assent  of  his  Cabinet,  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  public  interests  demanded  a 
change  in  the  three  leading  offices  in  New  York,  and  a  pub 
lic  announcement  of  that  character  was  authorized.  I  am 
quite  sure  that  this  will  on  the  whole,  be  considered  to  be  a 
wise  result.  The  manner  of  making  the  changes  and  the 
persons  to  be  appointed  will  be  a  subject  of  careful  and  full 
consideration,  but  it  is  better  to  know  that  it  is  determined 
upon  and  ended.  This  made  it  unnecessary  to  consider  the 
telegrams  in  regard  to  Mr.  Cornell.  It  is  probable  that  no 
special  point  would  have  been  made  upon  his  holding  his 
position  as  Chairman  of  the  State  Committee  for  a  limited 
time,  but  even  that  was  not  the  thing,  the  real  question 


HAYES  AND  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE.  207 

being  that,  whether  he  resigned  or  not,  it  was  better  that 
he  and  Arthur  and  Sharpe  should  all  give  way  to  new  men, 
to  try  definitely  a  new  policy  in  the  conduct  of  the*  New 
York  Custom-house.  I  have  no  doubt,  unless  these  gentle 
men  should  make  it  impossible  by  their  conduct  hereafter, 
that  they  will  be  treated  with  the  utmost  consideration,  and, 
for  one,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  hope  General 
Arthur  will  be  recognized  in  a  most  complimentary  way." 

A  great  fight  was  now  on.  Arthur  was  offered  the 
eligible  post  of  Consul-General  at  Paris,  thought  likely  to 
be  highly  agreeable  to  him,  but  he  declined  it.  None  of 
the  officials  would  resign.  On  the  contrary,  pushed  by 
Senator  Conkling,  all  three  preferred  to  make  an  issue 
against  the  proposed  reform.  On  October  24,  1877,  the 
President  nominated  for  Collector  Theodore  Roosevelt,  for 
Surveyor  Edward  A.  Merritt,  and  for  Naval  Officer  L.  B. 
Prince.  Five  days  later  the  Senate  rejected  them.  Conk- 
ling  was  in  high  feather.  On  December  6th,  during  the  fol 
lowing  session,  the  three  were  again  nominated,  but  only  the 
last,  ten  days  later,  confirmed.  "No  doubt,"  said  Sherman, 
"the  Democratic  majority  in  the  Senate  might  defend  them 
selves  with  political  reasons,  but  the  motive  of  Mr.  Conk- 
ling  was  hostility  to  President  Hayes  and  his  inborn  desire 
to  domineer."  After  the  session  closed,  in  1878,  the  Presi 
dent  temporarily  placed  Edwin  A.  Merritt  in  the  office  of 
Collector,  and  Silas  W.  Burt  in  that  of  Naval  Officer.  With 
the  opening  of  the  next  Senate  it  became  necessary  to  sub 
mit  the  nominations  to  that  body  for  confirmation.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  so  interested  in  the  case  that 
he  had  determined  to  resign  should  the  Senate  reject  again, 
wrote  Senator  Allison : 

"I  would  not  bother  you  with  this  personal  matter,  but 
that  I  feel  the  deepest  interest  in  the  confirmation  of  Gen 
eral  Merritt,  which  I  know  will  be  beneficial  to  us  as  a 
party,  and  still  more  so  to  the  public  service.  Personally  I 
have  the  deepest  interest  in  it  because  I  have  been  un 
justly  asailed  in  regard  to  it  in  the  most  offensive  manner. 


208  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

I  feel  free  to  appeal  to  you  and  Windom,  representing  as 
you  do  Western  States,  and  being  old  friends  and  acquaint 
ances,  to  take  into  consideration  this  personal  aspect  of  the 
case.  If  the  restoration  of  Arthur  is  insisted  upon,  the 
whole  liberal  element  will  be  against  us  and  it  will  lose  us 
tens  of  thousands  of  votes  without  doing  a  particle  of  good. 
No  man  could  be  a  more  earnest  Republican  than  I,  and  I 
feel  this  political  loss  as  much  as  any  one  can.  It  will  be 
a  personal  reproach  to  me,  and  merely  to  gratify  the  insane 
hate  of  Conkling,  who  in  this  respect  disregards  the  express 
wishes  of  the  Republican  members  from  New  York,  of  the 
great  body  of  Republicans,  and  as  I  personally  know,  runs  in 
antagonism  to  his  nearest  and  best  friends  in  the  Senate." 

To  Senator  Justin  S.  Morrill  Sherman  wrote  a  much 
longer  letter,  giving  reasons  in  detail  in  favor  of  confirming 
the  new  men,  and  containing  specific  charges  of  neglect  of 
duty  on  the  part  of  Arthur  and  Cornell.  After  seven  hours 
of  struggle  in  the  Senate  Conkling  was  decisively  defeated, 
Merritt  being  confirmed  33  to  24,  and  Burt  31  to  19.  Tour- 
fifths  of  the  Democrats  and  two-fifths  of  the  Republicans 
voted  for  confirmation. 

While  temper  over  this  controversy  was  at  its  hottest 
George  William  Curtis  supported  in  the  New  York  State 
Republican  Convention  a  resolution  commending  Hayes's 
Administration,  and  especially  his  course  with  regard  to  the 
civil  service.  This  aroused  Conkling  to  make  a  fierce  per 
sonal  attack  upon  Curtis.  Curtis  wrote :  "It  was  the  saddest 
sight  I  ever  knew,  that  man  glaring  at  me  in  a  fury  of  hate 
and  storming  out  his  foolish  blackguardism.  It  was  all  pity. 
I  had  not  thought  him  great,  but  I  had  not  suspected  how 
small  he  was.  His  friends,  the  best,  were  confounded.  One 
of  them  said  to  me  next  day,  'It  was  not  amazement  that  I 
felt,  but  consternation.'  Conkling's  speech  was  carefully 
written  out,  and  therefore  you  do  not  get  all  the  venom, 
and  no  one  can  imagine  the  Mephistophelian  leer  and  spite." 

After  all,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  Hayes's  bold  inde 
pendence  did  not  seriously  divide  his  party.  Few  stalwarts 


HAYES  AND  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE.  209 

dared  call  him  a  traitor.  Democratic  opposition  fortified 
him  against  this.  The  House,  Democratic  throughout  his 
term,  fought  nearly  all  his  wishes,  as  did  the  Senate,  now 
also  Democratic,  during  his  last  two  years.  To  balk  him, 
appropriation  bills  were  laden  with  riders  involving  legisla 
tion  which  he  could  not  approve,  but  he  firmly  applied  the 
veto.  The  futile  attempt  to  "right"  the  alleged  "fraud  of 
1877"  by  ripping  up  the  Electoral  Commission's  work,  kept 
Hayes  before  the  country  as  the  Republicans'  man,  inciden 
tally  doing  much  to  advertise  his  sterling  character.  Re 
freshing  decency  marked  all  of  Mr.  Hayes's  public  doings. 
The  men  placed  in  office  by  him  were,  as  a  rule,  the  best 
available,  chosen  with  the  least  possible  regard  to  political 
influence,  and,  like  all  others  in  the  civil  service,  they  were 
required  to  abstain  from  active  participation  in  political  af 
fairs.  This  policy  enraged  politicians,  but,  by  immensely  re 
lieving  the  party  from  the  odium  into  which  it  had  fallen, 
aided  to  put  it  in  condition  for  the  campaign  of  1880. 


210  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER   X. 

"THE   UNITED   STATES   WILL  PAY" 

Back  to  Hard  Money — Act  to  Strengthen  the  Public  Credit — Diffi 
culty  of  Contraction — Ignorance  of  Finance — Debtors  Pinched — 
The  Panic  of  1873 — Causes — Failure  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  and 
of  Fiske  &  Hatch — Black  Friday  No.  2 — On  Change  and  on  the 
Street — Bulls,  Bears,  and  Banks — Criticism  of  Secretary  Rich 
ardson — First  Use  of  Clearing-House  Certificates — Effects  and 
Duration  of  the  Panic — An  Important  Good  Result — Resumption 
and  Politics  —  The  Resumption  Act  —  Sherman's  Qualifications 
for  Executing  It — His  Firmness — Resumption  Actually  Begun — 
Magnitude  and  Meaning  of  this  Policy — Our  Bonded  Debt  Rap 
idly  Reduced — Legal  Tender  Questions  and  Decisions — Juilliard 
vs.  Greenman  —  The  "Fiat-Greenback"  Heresy  —  "Dollar  of  the 
Fathers"  Demonetized— Not  by  Fraud,  but  Without  Due  Reflec 
tion — The  Bland  Bill  and  the '"Allison  Tip" — The  Amended  Bill 
Vetoed,  but  Passed — Subsequent  Silver  Legislation. 

THE  most  momentous  single  deed  of  Mr.  Hayes's  Ad 
ministration  was  the  restoration  of  the  country's  finances, 
public  and  private,  to  a  hard-money  basis.  On  January  1, 
1879,  the  United  States  began  again  the  payment,  sus 
pended  for  more  than  sixteen  years,  of  specie  in  liquidation 
of  its  greenback  promises.  The  familiar  legend  upon  our 
Treasury  notes,  "The  United  States  will  pay/7  became  true 
at  last.  Our  paper  dollar  had  begun  to  sink  below  par  so 
early  as  December  28^  1861,  after  which  date  it  underwent 
the  most  painful  fluctuations.  On  July  11,  1864,  it  was 
sixty-five  per  cent  below  par,  thenceforward  sinking  and  ris 
ing  fitfully,  but  never  reaching  gold  value  again  till  the 
month  of  December,  1878. 

The  difficulties  of  replacing  the  country's  business  on  a 
solid  monetary  platform  had  been  foreseen  as  soon  as  the 
subject  loomed  into  view.  Senator  Sherman,  upon  whom 
finally  fell  the  main  burden  of  carrying  the  operation 
through,  wrote  in  1868 :  "I  am  in  real  embarrassment  about 


"THE  UNITED  STATES   WILL  PAY."  211 

questions  that  I  must  now  act  upon.  My  conviction  is  that 
specie  payments  must  be  resumed,  and  I  have  my  own 
theories  as  to  the  mode  of  resumption,  but  the  process  is  a 
very  hard  one  and  will  endanger  the  popularity  of  any  man 
or  administration  that  is  compelled  to  adopt  it." 

The  very  first  act  of  the  Forty-first  Congress  was  one 
entitled  "An  Act  to  strengthen  the  public  credit. "  Intro 
duced  in  the  House  by  General  Schenck  on  March  12,  1869, 
it  there  passed  on  that  day,  reaching  the  Senate  on  the 
15th,  where  also  it  speedily  passed.  On  the  19th  this 
memorable  bill  became  law.  It  ran : 

"That,  in  order  to  remove  any  doubt  as  to  the  purpose 
of  the  Government  to  discharge  all  just  obligations  to  the 
public  creditors,  and  to  settle  conflicting  questions  and  inter 
pretations  of  the  laws  by  virtue  of  which  said  obligations 
have  been  contracted,,  it  is  hereby  provided  and  declared 
that  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is  solemnly  pledged  to 
the  payment  in  coin,  or  its  equivalent,  of  all  obligations  of 
the  United  States  not  bearing  interest,  known  as  United 
States  notes,  and  of  all  interest-bearing  obligations  of  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  where  the  law  authorizing 
the  issue  of  such  obligations  has  expressly  provided  that 
the  same  may  be  paid  in  lawful  money  or  other  currency 

than  gold  or  silver And  the  United  States  also 

solemnly  pledges  its  faith  to  make  provision,  at  the  earliest 
practicable  period,  for  the  redemption  of  the  United  States 
notes  in  coin." 

However  necessary  to  final  prosperity,  the  contraction  of 
our  currency  was  a  sore  process,  and  it  encountered  at  every 
stage  the  most  bitter  opposition.  The  war  left  us,  as  it 
found  us,  with  painfully  little  grasp  on  the  principles  of 
money.  Men  of  one  type  felt  that  low  or  falling  prices, 
however  caused,  meant  prosperity ;  another  class  attached 
this  meaning  to  high  prices,  however  caused.  Few  reflected 
enough  to  see  that  great  and  solid  prosperity  may  attend  ris 
ing  prices,  as  between  1850  and  1870,  or  that,  on  the  other 
hand,  prices  may  be  going  down  and  yet  greater  effort  be 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

required  to  obtain  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  generally 
conceded  desirableness  of  replacing  business  upon  a  precious- 
metal  basis,  whatever  hardship  in  lowered  values  this  might 
cost  those  whose  property  consisted  of  goods  or  lands  and 
not  of  money,  misled  many,  even  after  the  gold  platform 
was  reached,  to  hail  each  drop  in  general  prices  with  halle 
lujahs.  Eastern  people  and  the  creditor  class  elsewhere  were 
usually  in  this  frame  of  mind. 

Far  different  felt  those,  so  numerous  throughout  the 
West,  who  had  run  in  debt  when  rank  inflation  was  on,  and 
who,  tied  to  their  mortgaged  farms,  were  compelled  to  pro 
duce  against  a  constantly  falling  market.  They  writhed 
under  the  pinch,  and  more  or  less  correctly  understood  the 
philosophy  of  it.  A  Montgomery  County,  Pa.,  farmer  once 
went  into  a  store  in  Norristown  and  bought  a  suit  of 
clothes.  The  storekeeper  said:  "That  is  the  cheapest 
suit  of  clothes  you  ever  bought."  "Oh,  no/7  said  the 
farmer,  "this  suit  cost  me  twenty  bushels  of  wheat.  I 
have  never  paid  over  fifteen  bushels  of  wheat  for  a  suit 
of  clothes  before.'7 

The  panic  of  1873,  so  far  as  it  resulted  from  contraction, 
had  its  main  origin  abroad,  not  in  America,  so  that  its  sub 
ordinate  causes  were  generally  looked  upon  as  its  sole  occa 
sion;  yet  these  bye  causes  were  important.  The  shocking 
destruction  of  wealth  by  fires  and  by  reckless  speculation, 
of  course  had  a  baneful  effect.  During  1872  the  balance  of 
trade  was  strongly  against  the  United  States.  The  circula 
tion  of  depreciated  paper  money  had  brought  to  many  an 
apparent  prosperity  which  was  not  real,  leading  to  the  free 
creation  of  debts  by  individuals,  corporations,  towns,  cities, 
and  States.  An  unprecedented  mileage  of  railways  had  been 
constructed.  Much  supposed  wealth  consisted  in  the  bonds 
of  these  railroads  and  of  other  new  concerns,  like  mining 
and  manufacturing  corporations.  Thus  the  entire  business 
of  the  country  was  on  a  basis  of  inflation,  and  when  con 
traction  came  disaster  was  inevitable. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  solid  values  began  to  be 


"THE   UNITED  STATES   WILL   PAY." 

hoarded  and  interest  rates  consequently  to  rise.  In  August 
there  was  a  partial  corner  in  gold,  broken  by  a  Government 
sale  of  $6,000,000.  In  September  panic  came,  with  suspen 
sion  of  several  large  banking-houses  in  New  York.  Jay 
Cooke  &  Co.,  who  had  invested  heavily  in  the  construction 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Kailway,  suspended  on  September 
18th.  When  authoritative  news  of  'chis  event  was  made 
known  in  the  Stock  Exchange  a  perfect  stampede  of  the 
brokers  ensued.  They  surged  out  of  the  Exchange,  tum 
bling  pell-mell  over  each  other  in  the  general  confusion, 
hastening  to  notify  their  respective  houses.  Next  day, 
September  19th,  Eiske  &  Hatch,  very  conservative  people, 
went  down. 

September  19th  was  a  second  Black  Friday.  Never  since 
the  original  Black  Eriday  had  the  street  and  the  Stock  Ex 
change  been  so  frantic.  The  weather,  dark  and  rainy,  seemed 
to  sympathize  with  the  gloom  which  clouded  the  financial 
situation.  "Wall,  Broad^  and  Nassau  Streets  were  thronged 
with  people.  Erom  the  corner  of  Wall  Street  and  Broad 
way  down  to  the  corner  of  Hanover  Street  a  solid  mass  of 
men  filled  both  sidewalks.  Erom  the  Post-office  along  Nas 
sau  Street  down  Broad  Street  to  Exchange  Place  another 
dense  throng  moved  slowly,  aimlessly,  hither  and  thither. 
Sections  of  Broadway  itself  were  packed.  Weaving  in  and 
out  like  the  shuttles  in  a  loom  were  brokers  and  brokers' 
clerks  making  the  best  speed  they  could  from  point  to  point. 
All  faces  wore  a  bewildered  and  foreboding  look.  To  help 
them  seem  cool,  moneyed  men  talked  about  the  weather,  but 
their  incoherent  words  and  nervous  motions  betrayed  their 
anxiety.  The  part  of  Wall  Street  at  the  corner  of  Broad 
Street  held  a  specially  interested  mass  of  men.  They  seemed 
like  an  assemblage  anxiously  awaiting  the  appearance  of  a 
great  spectacle.  High  up  on  the  stone  balustrade  of  the 
Sub-Treasury  were  numerous  spectators,  umbrellas  shelter 
ing  them  from  the  pelting  rain  as  they  gazed  with  rapt  at 
tention  on  the  scene  below.  All  the  brokers'  offices  were 
filled.  In  each,  at  the  first  click  of  the  indicator,  everybody 


214  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

present  was  breathless,  showing  an  interest  more  and  more 
intense  as  the  figures  telegraphed  were  read  off. 

It  was  half-past  ten  in  the  morning  when  the  Fiske  & 
Hatch  failure  was  announced  in  the  Stock  Exchange.  For  a 
moment  there  was  silence ;  then  a  hoarse  murmur  broke  out 
from  bulls  and  bears  alike,  followed  by  yells  and  cries  inde 
scribable,  clearly  audible  on  the  street.  Even  the  heartless 
bear,  in  glee  over  the  havoc  he  was  making,  paused  to  utter 
a  growl  of  sorrow  that  gentlemen  so  honorable  should  be 
come  ursine  prey.  The  news  of  the  failure  ran  like  a  prairie' 
fire,  spreading  dismay  that  showed  itself  on  all  faces.  An- 
notators  of  values  in  the  various  offices  made  known  in  dole 
ful  ticks  the  depreciation  of  stocks  and  securities.  Old 
habitues  of  the  exchanges,  each  usually  placid  as  a  moonlit 
lake,  were  wrought  up  till  they  acted  like  wild  men. 

At  the  corner  of  Broad  Street  and  Exchange  Place  a  de 
lirious  crowd  of  money-lenders  and  borrowers  collected  and 
tried  to  fix  a  rate  for  loans.    The  matter  hung  in  the  balance 
for  some  time  until  the  extent  of  the  panic  became  known. 
Then  they  bid  until  the  price  of  money  touched  one-half  of 
one  per  cent  a  day  and  legal  interest.     One.  man,  after  lend 
ing   $30,000   at   three-eighths  per   cent,   said  that  he   had 
$20,000  left,  but  that  he  thought  he  would  not  lend  it.     As 
he  said  this,  he  turned  toward  his  office,  but  was  immediately 
surrounded  by  about  twenty  borrowers  who  hung  on  to  his 
arms  and  coat-tails  till  he  had  agreed  to  lend  the  $20,000. 
The  Stock  Exchange  witnessed  the  chief  tragedy  and  the 
chief  farce  of  the  day.     Such  tumult,  push  and  bellowing 
had  never  been  known  there  even  in  the  wildest  moments  of 
the  war.     The  interior  of  the  Exchange  was  of  noble  alti 
tude,  with  a  vaulting  top,  brilliantly  colored  in  Kenaissance 
design,  that  sprang  upward  with  a  strength  and  grace  sel 
dom  so  happily  united.     A  cluster  of  gas-jets,  hanging  high, 
well  illuminated  the  inclosure.     On  the  capacious  floor,  un 
obstructed  by  pillars  or  by  furniture,  save  one  small  table 
whereon  a  large  basket  of  flowers  rested,  a  mob  of  brokers 
and  brokers7  clerks  surged  back  and  forth,  filling  the  im- 


"THE  UNITED  STATES   WILL  PAY."  215 

mense  space  above  with  roars  and  screams.     The  floor  was 
portioned  off  to  some  twenty  different  groups.     Here  was 
one  tossing  "New  York  Central"  up  and  down;  near  by  an 
other  playing  ball  with  "Wabash" ;  "Northwestern"  jumped 
and  sank  as  if  afflicted  with  St.  Vitus's  dance.    In  the  middle 
of  the  floor  "Rock  Island"  cut  up  similar  capers.     In  a  re 
mote   corner   "Pacific  Mail"   was  beaten  with  clubs,  while 
"Harlem"   rose   like   a  balloon   filled  with   pure  hydrogen 
The  uninitiated  expected  every  instant  to  see  the  mob  fighv 
Jobbers  squared  off  at  each  other  and  screamed  and  yellef 
violently,  flinging  their  arms  around  and  producing  a  scene 
which  Bedlam  itself  could  not  equal. 

Behind  the  raised  desk,  in  snowy  shirt-front  and  necktie, 
stood  the  President  of  the  Exchange,  his  strong  tenor  voice 
every  now  and  then  ringing  out  over  the  Babel  of  sounds 
beneath.  The  gallery  opposite  him  contained  an  eager  throng 
of  spectators  bending  forward  and  craning  their  necks  to 
view  the  pandemonium  on  the  floor.  The  rush  for  this  gal 
lery  was  fearful,  and  apparently,  but  for  the  utmost  effort 
of  the  police,  must  have  proved  fatal  to  some.  Excitement 
in  Wall  Street  not  infrequently  drew  crowds  to  the  mair 
front  of  the  Exchange ;  but  hardly  ever,  if  ever  before,  had 
the  vicinity  been  so  packed  as  now.  Two  large  blackboards 
exhibited  in  chalk  figures  the  incessantly  fluctuating  quota 
tions.  Telegraph  wires  connected  the  Exchange  with  a 
thousand  indicators  throughout  the  city,  whence  the  quota 
tions,  big  with  meaning  to  many,  were  flashed  over  the  land. 

The  first  Black  Friday  was  a  bull  Friday;  the  second 
was  a  bear  Friday.  Early  in  the  panic  powerful  brokers  be 
gan  to  sell  short,  and  they  succeeded  in  hammering  down 
from  ten  to  forty  per  cent  many  of  the  finest  stocks  like 
"New  York  Central,"  "Erie,"  "Wabash,"  "Northwestern," 
"Rock  Island,"  and  "Western  Union."  They  then  bought 
to  cover  their  sales.  Bull  brokers,  unable  to  pay  their  con 
tracts,  shrieked  for  margin  money,  which  their  principals 
would  not  or  could  not  put  up.  They  also  sought  relief  from 
the  banks,  but  in  vain.  It  had  long  been  the  practice  of  ceis 


216  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tain  banks,  though  contrary  to  law,  early  each  day  to  certify 
checks  to  enormous  amounts  in  favor  of  brokers  who  had  not 
a  cent  on  deposit  to  their  credit,  the  understanding  in  each 
case  being  that  before  three  o'clock  the  broker  would  hand 
in  enough  cash  or  securities  to  cancel  his  debt.  The  banks 
now  refused  this  accommodation.  In  the  Exchange,  eighteen 
names  were  read  off  of  brokers  who  could  not  fulfil  their 
contracts.  As  fast  as  the  failures  were  announced  the  news 
was  carried  out  on  to  the  street.  In  spite  of  the  rain  hun 
dreds  of  people  gathered  about  the  offices  of  fallen  reputa 
tion,  and  gazed  curiously  through  the  windows  trying  to 
make  out  how  the  broken  brokers  were  behaving.  Toward 
evening,  as  the  clouds  lifted  over  Trinity  spire,  showing  a 
ruddy  flush  in  the  west,  everybody,  save  some  reluctant 
bears,  said,  "The  worst  is  over,"  and  breathed  a  sigh  of 
relief.  The  crowd  melted,  one  by  one  the  tiny  little  Broad 
way  coupes  rattled  off,  one  by  one  the  newsboys  ceased 
shrieking,  and  night  closed  over  the  wet  street. 

In  deference  to  a  general  wish  that  dealings  in  stocks 
should  cease,  the  Exchange  was  shut  on  Saturday,  Septem 
ber  20th,  and  not  opened  again  till  the  30th.  Such  closure 
had  never  occurred  before.  On  Sunday  morning  President 
Grant  and  Secretary  Richardson,  of  the  Treasury,  came  to 
New  York,  spending  the  day  in  anxious  consultation  with 
Vanderbilt,  Clews,  and  other  prominent  business  men. 

Had -the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  acted  promptly  and 
firmly  he  might  have  relieved  the  situation  much;  but  he 
vacillated.  Some  $13,500,000  in  five-twenty  bonds  were 
bought,  and  a  few  millions  of  the  greenbacks  which  Secre 
tary  McCulloch  had  called  in  for  cancellation  were  set  free. 
But  as  Mr.  Richardson  announced  no  policy  on  which  the 
public  could  depend,  most  of  the  cash  let  loose  was  instantly 
hoarded  in  vaults  or  used  in  the  purchase  of  other  bonds 
then  temporarily  depressed,  so  doing  nothing  whatever  to 
allay  the  distress.  On  the  25th  the  Treasury  ceased  buying 
bonds.  The  person  who,  at  the  worst,  sustained  the  market 
and  kept  it  from  breaking  to  a  point  where  half  of  the 


"THE  UNITED  STATES  WILL  PAY."  217 

street  would  have  been  inevitably  ruined,  was  Jay  Gould, 
mischief  itself  on  the  first  Black  Friday,  but  on  this  one  a 
blessing.  He  bought  during  the  low  prices  several  hundred 
thousand  shares  of  railroad  stocks,  principally  of  the  Van- 
dei'bilt  stripe,  and  in  this  way  put  a  check  on  the  ruinous 
decline. 

The  national  banks  of  New  York  weathered  this  cyclone 
by  a  novel  device  of  the  Clearing-house  or  associated  banks. 
These  pooled  their  cash  and  collaterals  into  a  common  fund, 
placed  this  in  the  hands  of  a  trusty  committee,  and  issued 
against  it  loan  certificates  that  were  receivable  at  the  Clear 
ing-house,  just  like  cash,  in  payment  of  debit  balances.  Ten 
million  dollars'  worth  of  these  certificates  was  issued  at  first, 
a  sum  subsequently  doubled.  This  Clearing-house  paper 
served  its  purpose  admirably.  By  October  3d  confidence 
was  so  restored  that  $1,000,000  of  it  was  called  in  and 
canceled,  followed  next  day  by  $1,500,000  more.  None  of 
it  was  long  outstanding.  The  Clearing-house  febrifuge  was 
successfully  applied  also  in  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg. 
and  other  cities,  but  not  in  Chicago. 

The  panic  overspread  the  country.  Credit  in  business 
was  refused,  debtors  were  pressed  for  payment,  securities 
were  rushed  into  the  market  and  fell  greatly  in  price.  Even 
United  States  bonds  went  down  from  five  to  ten  per  cent. 
There  was  a  run  upon  savings  banks,  many  of  which  suc 
cumbed.  Manufactured  goods  were  little  salable,  and  the 
prices  of  agricultural  products  painfully  sank.  Factories 
began  to  run  on  short  time,  many  closed  entirely,  many 
corporations  failed.  The  peculiarity  of  this  crisis  was  the 
slowness  with  which  it  abated,  though  fortunately  its  acute 
phase  was  of  brief  duration.  No  date  could  be  set  as  its 
term,  its  evil  effects  dragging  on  through  years. 

In  convincing  multitudes,  as  it  did,  of  the  imperative 
necessity  of  replacing  our  national  finances  on  a  coin  foun 
dation,  this  panic  was  worth  all  it  cost.  It  was  influential  in 
uniting  the  friends  of  sound  finance  and  of  national  honesty 
upon  the  resumption  policy.  Men  saw  that  this  policy,  how- 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.— 10. 


218  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

ever  hard  to  enter  upon,  however  disastrous  in  the  execu 
tion,  however  sure  of  terrible  opposition  at  every  step,  must 
succeed,  and  could  not  but  bring  lasting  credit  to  the  political 
party  bold  enough  to  espouse  and  push  it.  At  first  the  re 
sumption  plan  divided  both  parties;  but,  little  by  little,  the 
Republicans  came  generally  to  favor  it,  the  Democrats,  some 
in  one  way  and  some  in  another,  to  gainsay. 

The  policy  and  the  details  of  resumption  were  hotly  de 
bated  all  through  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1876.  Many 
opposed  return  to  specie  from  ignorance  of  its  meaning. 
Some  thought  that  after  resumption  no  paper  money  of  any 
kind  w^ould  be  in  circulation,  or  at  least  that  all  greenbacks 
would  be  gone.  Most,  even  of  such  as  favored  it,  probably 
expected  that  resumption  would  involve  paying  out  by  the 
Government  of  almost  unlimited  sums  in  gold.  Few,  com 
paratively,  could  see  that  it  consisted  merely  in  bringing 
United  States  notes  to  gold  par  and  keeping  them  there. 
Mr.  Tilden  would  assign  this  work  to  the  domain  of  "prac 
tical  administrative  statesmanship."  Like  all  other  Demo 
crats,  he  urged  "a  system  of  preparation"  for  resumption 
in  place  of  the  Republican  Resumption  Act.  "A  system  of 
preparation  without  the  promise  of  a  day,  for  the  worthless 
promise  of  a  day  without  a  system  of  preparation  would  be 
the  gain  of  the  substance  of  resumption  in  exchange  for  its 
shadow."  In  reply  it  was  maintained  that  "the  way  to 
resume  was  to  resume."  This  thought  fortunately  deter 
mined  the  policy  of  the  country  and  was  justified  by  the 
event. 

The  Resumption  Act,  passed  January  14,  1875,  had  set 
a  date  for  resumption — four  years  ahead,  January  1,  1879. 
The  first  section  provided  for  the  immediate  coinage  of  sub 
sidiary  silver  to  redeem  the  fractional  currency.  This  was 
practicable,  as  the  now  low  gold  price  of  that  metal  rendered 
possible  its  circulation  concurrently  with  greenbacks.  The 
master-clause  of  the  act  authorized  the  Secretary  to  buy 
"coin"  with  any  of  his  surplus  revenues,  and  for  the  same 
purpose  "to  issue,  sell,  and  dispose  of  bonds  of  the  United 


"THE   UNITED   STATES   WILL   PAY."  219 

States. "  It  was  fortunate  that  Mr.  Sherman,  who  as  Sena 
tor  had  drafted  the  measure,  was,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury  in  the  Hayes  Cabinet,  called  to  execute  it. 

Ever  since  1859  his  connection  with  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means  in  the  House  and  with  the  Committee  on 
Finance  in  the  Senate  had  brought  him  into  close  official 
relations  with  the  Treasury  Department.  This  legislative 
training  gave  him  a  full  knowledge  of  the  several  laws  that 
were  to  be  executed  in  relation  to  public  revenue,  to  all 
forms  of  taxation,  to  coinage  and  currency,  and  to  the  public 
debt.  The  entire  system  of  national  finance  then  existing 
grew  out  of  the  Civil  "War,  and  Mr.  Sherman  had  par 
ticipated  in  the  passage  of  all  the  laws  relating  to  this  sub 
ject.  His  intimate  association  with  Secretaries  Chase,  Fes- 
senden,  and  McCulloch,  and  his  friendly  relations  with  Sec 
retaries  Boutwell  and  Richardson,  led  him,  as  Chairman  of 
the  Senate  Committee  on  Finance,  to  have  free  and  con 
fidential  intercourse  with  them  as  to  legislation  affecting 
the  Treasury.  Though  a  good  lawyer  and  an  able  man, 
Secretary  Bristow  had  not  had  the  benefit  of  experience 
either  in  Congress  or  in  the  Department.  He  doubted 
whether  resumption  would  be  effective  without  a  gradual 
retirement  of  United  States  notes,  a  measure  to  which  Con 
gress  would  not  agree,  repealing  even  the  limited  retirement 
of  such  notes  provided  for  by  the  Resumption  Act.  Secretary 
Morrill,  Sherman's  immediate  predecessor,  was  in  hearty 
sympathy  with  the  policy  of  resumption,  but  his  failing 
health  had  kept  him  from  that  efficiency  as  Secretary  which 
he  would  otherwise  have  displayed.  For  some  time  before 
the  end  of  his  term  in  the  Treasury,  illness  had  confined  him 
to  his  lodgings.  The  Treasury  Department  was,  however, 
well  organized,  most  of  its  chief  officers  having  been  long 
in  service.  But  few  changes  here  were  made  under  Hayes, 
and  only  as  vacancies  occurred  or  incompetency  was  demon 
strated.1 

1  John  Sherman's  "Recollections/''  pp.  565,  560. 


220  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

In  resolutely  preparing  for  resumption,  spite  of  cries 
that  it  was  impossible,  or,  if  possible,  certain  to  be  ruinous 
and  deadly,  Sherman,  whom  many  had  thought  timid  and 
vacillating,  evinced  the  utmost  strength  of  will.  The  De 
mocracy  was  for  the  most  part  adverse  to  all  effort  for  im 
mediate  resumption,  favoring,  rather,  an  enlarged  issue  of 
Treasury  notes.  The  elections  of  1877  and  1878,  generally 
either  Democratic  or  Republican  by  lowered  majorities, 
would  have  made  many  an  Administration  retreat  or  pause. 
Opposition  to  the  party  in  power  was  of  course  due  in  part 
to  the  wide  belief  that  Hayes  had  been  jockeyed  into  the 
Presidency,  and  in  part  to  the  great  railway  strikes,  where 
the  President  had  promptly  suppressed  criminal  disorder  by 
the  use  of  Federal  arms.  Clearly,  however,  very  much  of 
it  arose  from  the  Administration's  avowal  that  the  Resump 
tion  Act  "could  be,  ought  to  be,  and  would  be  executed  if 
not  repealed. " 

In  the  advertising  and  placing  of  his  loans,  Mr.  Sherman 
showed  himself  a  master  in  big  finance.  By  the  sale  of  four- 
and-a-half  per  cent  bonds,  callable  in  1891,  he  had,  before 
the  appointed  day,  accumulated  an  aggregate  of  $140,000,000 
gold  coin  and  bullion,  being  forty  per  cent  of  the  then  out 
standing  greenbacks.  Partly  owing  to  several  abundant  har 
vests,  throwing  the  balance  of  European  trade  in  our  favor 
and  crowding  gold  this  way,  resumption  proved  easier  than 
any  anticipated.  The  greenbacks  rose  to  par  thirteen  days 
before  the  date  fixed  for  beginning  gold  payments.  Rumors 
were  rife  of  a  conspiracy  to  "corner"  gold,  and  to  make  a 
run  on  the  Sub-Treasury  New  Year's  day,  1879,  the  day 
for  beginning  resumption.  On  the  30th  of  December,  1878, 
the  president  of  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce  and  chair 
man  of  the  Clearing-house  committee,  begged  for  $5,000,000 
in  gold  in  exchange  for  a  like  amount  of  United  States  notes 
on  the  following  day,  a  proposition  which  was  forthwith  de 
clined.  "The  year  closed  with  no  unpleasant  excitement, 
but  with  unpleasant  forebodings.  The  first  day  of  January 
was  Sunday  and  no  business  was  transacted.  On  Monday 


"THE  UNITED  STATES  WILL  PAY."  221 

anxiety  reigned  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary.  Hour  after 
hour  passed;  no  news  came  from  New  York.  Inquiry  by 
wire  showed  that  all  was  quiet.  At  the  close  of  business 
came  this  message:  '$135, 000  of  notes  presented  for  coin— 
$400,000  of  gold  for  notes.'  That  was  all.  Resumption 
was  accomplished  with  no  disturbance.  By  five  o'clock 
the  news  was  all  over  the  land,  and  the  New  York  bankers 
were  sipping  their  tea  in  absolute  safety.  The  prediction 
of  the  Secretary  had  become  history.  "When  gold  could  with 
certainty  be  obtained  for  notes,  nobody  wanted  it.  The  ex 
periment  of  maintaining  a  limited  amount  of  United  States 
notes  in  circulation,  based  upon  a  reasonable  reserve  in  the 
Treasury  pledged  for  that  purpose,  and  supported  also  by 
the  credit  of  the  Government,  proved  generally  satisfactory, 
and  the  exclusive  use  of  these  notes  for  circulation  may  be 
come,  in  time,  the  fixed  financial  policy  of  the  Govern 
ment."  1 

The  straggling  applications  for  coin  made  when  resump 
tion  day  arrived  were  less  in  amount  than  was  asked  for  in 
greenbacks  by  bondholders,  who  could  in  any  event  have 
demanded  coin.  During  the  entire  year  1879  only  $11,456,- 
536  in  greenbacks  were  offered  for  redemption,  while  over 
$250,000,000  were  paid  out  in  coin  obligations.  It  was 
found  that  people  preferred  paper  to  metal  money,  and  had 
no  wish  for  gold  instead  of  notes  when  assured  that  the  ex 
change  could  be  made  at  their  option.  Notwithstanding  our 
acceptance  of  greenbacks  for  customs — $109,467,456  during 
1879 — the  Treasury  at  the  end  of  that  year  experienced  a 
dearth  of  these  and  a  plethora  of  coin,  having  actually  to 
force  debtors  to  receive  hard  money. 

The  magnitude  and  meaning  of  the  financial  policy  thus 
launched  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  The  nation  had  piled 
up  a  war  debt  amounting  to  the  enormous  sum  of  $2,844,- 
649,626.  This  figure,  the  highest  which  the  debt  ever  attained, 
was  reached  in  'August,  1865.  ^Fany  people  at  home  and  in 

1  J.  K.  Upton,  in  "Scribner's  Magazine,"  July,  1892. 


222  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

other  countries  thought  that  amounts  so  vast  as  were  called 
for  could  never  possibly  be  paid.  When  we  began  borrow 
ing,  the  London  "Economist"  declared  it  "utterly  out  of  the 
question  for  the  Americans  to  obtain  the  extravagant  sums 
they  asked/7  saying:  "Europe  won't  lend  them;  Americans 
can  not"  The  Washington  agent  of  the  London  bankers 
through  whom  our  Government  did  foreign  business,  after 
the  battle  of  Bull  Run  called  at  the  Treasury  on  Sunday  to 
get  his  "little  bill"  settled,  having  the  effrontery  to  ask  the 
acting  Secretary,  Mr.  George  Harrington,  to  give  security 
that  the  balance,  about  $40,000,  would  be  paid.  Mr.  Har 
rington  directed  the  anxious  Englishman  to  wait,  as  the  Gov 
ernment  would  probably  not  break  up  before  business  hours 
next  day.  The  London  "Times"  declared :  "No  pressure  that 
ever  threatened  is  equal  to  that  which  now  hangs  over  the 
United  States,  and  it  may  safely  be  said  that  if  in  future  gen 
erations  they  faithfully  meet  their  liabilities,  they  will  fairly 
earn  a  fame  which  will  shine  throughout  the  world."  In 
March,  1863,  concluding  an  article  on  Secretary  Chase's 
stupendous  operations,  the  same  newspaper  exclaimed: 
"What  strength,  what  resources,  what  vitality,  what  energy 
there  must  be  in  a  nation  that  is  able  to  ruin  itself  on  a  scale 
so  transcendent !"  1 

~No  nation  ever  took  a  braver  course  than  did  the  United 
States'  in  deliberately  beginning  the  reduction  of  that  enor 
mous  war  debt.  The  will  to  reduce  it  opened  the  way,  and 
the  payment  went  on  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  policy  was 
to  call  in  high-rate  bonds  as  soon  as  callable,  and  replace 
them  by  others  bearing  lower  rates.  So  immense  was  the 
Government's  income  that  to  have  set  so  late  a  date  as  1891 
for  the  time  when  the  four-and-a-halfs  could  be  canceled 
proved  unfortunate.  To  fix  for  the  maturity  of  the  fours  so 
remote  a  date  as  1907  was  worse  still.  The  three-per-cents 
of  1882,  which  supplanted  earlier  issues,  were  wisely  made 
payable  at  the  Government's  option.  For  the  twenty-three 

i  Shuckers,  "Life  of  S.  P.  Chase/'  pp.  225,  226. 


"THE  UNITED  STATES   WILL  PAY." 

years  beginning  with  August,  1865,  the  reduction  proceeded 
at  an  average  rate  of  a  little  under  $63,000,000  yearly,  which 
would  be  $5,250,000  each  month,  $175,000  each  day,  $7,- 
291  each  hour,  and  $121  each  minute. 

An  act  of  Congress  passed  February  25,  1862,  had  au 
thorized  the  issue  of  $150,000,000  in  non-interest-bearing 
Treasury  notes.  These  notes  had  110  precedent  with  us  since 
colonial  times.  Xeither  receivable  for  duties  nor  payable 
for  interest  on  the  public  debt,  they  were  yet  legal  tender 
for  all  other  payments,  public  and  private.  As  the  Govern 
ment  paid  its  own  debts  with  them  they  amounted  to  a  forced 
loan. 

The  legal-tender  clause  of  the  1862  law  roused  bitterest 
antagonism.  The  press  ridiculed  it,  in  some  cases  being  re 
fused  the  use  of  the  mails  for  that  reason.  "The  financial 
fabric  of  the  Union  totters  to  its  base,"  said  a  leading  journal. 
Secretary  Chase  himself,  the  father  of  the  greenback,  after 
ward,  as  Chief  Justice,  pronounced  the  law  unconstitutional. 
This  was  his  judgment  from  the  first,  and  he  overrode  it, 
after  painful  deliberation,  only  because  such  a  course  seemed 
absolutely  necessary  to  save  the  nation.  Mr.  Lincoln  is  said 
to  have  aided  his  Secretary  at  this  crisis  by  the  parable  of 
the  captain  who,  his  ship  aleak,  worse  and  worse  in  spite  of 
his  prayers  to  the  Virgin,  threw  her  image  overboard,  and, 
having  successfully  made  port  and  docked  his  vessel  for  re 
pairs,  found  the  image  neatly  filling  the  hole  where  the 
water  had  come  in.  Both  deemed  it  patriotic  to  make  jet 
sam  of  the  Constitution  if  thereby  they  might  bring  safe  into 
port  the  leaky  ship  of  state,  in  danger  of  being  engulfed  in 
the  mad  ocean  of  civil  war. 

Thus  the  issue  of  legal-tenders  began  under  the  pressure 
of  urgent  necessity.  From  first  to  last  $450,000,000  of  this 
paper  had  been  voted,  whereof,  on  January  3,  1864,  $449,- 
338,902  was  outstanding.  Specie  payments  were  suspended 
two  days  before  the  introduction  of  the  legal-tender  act. 
Gold  went  to  a  premium  while  that  act  was  under  discussion, 
remaining  so  till  just  before  resumption,  January  1,  1879. 


224  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  ' 

Even  the  subsidiary  silver  coinage  disappeared,  and  Con 
gress  was  obliged  to  issue  fractional  paper  currency,  "shin- 
plasters,"  in  its  stead. 

Several  Constitutional  questions  were  connected  with  the 
greenback.  In  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  (8  Wall.,  603)  the 
Court  held,  four1  Justices  against  three,  that,  while  the  act  of 
February  25,  1862,  might,  as  a  war  measure,  be  valid,  mak 
ing  greenbacks  legal  tender  for  debts  contracted  after  its 
passage,  yet,  so  far  as  its  provisions  related  to  pre-existing 
debts,  it  was  inconsistent  with  the  Constitution,  not  being  a 
"necessary"  or  "proper"  means  to  any  end  therein  authorized. 
In  Parker  vs.  Davis  (12  Wall.,  457),  the  personnel  of  the 
Court  having  been  changed  by  the  resignation  of  Justice 
Grier  and  the  appointment  of  Justices  Bradley  and  Strong, 
though  Chase,  Clifford,  and  Field  strenuously  maintained 
their  former  views,  the  Hepburn  vs.  Griswold  decision  was 
reversed.  That  case,  the  Court  now  said,  "was  decided  by 
a  divided  Court,"  having  fewer  Judges  "than  the  law  then 
in  existence  provided  that  this  Court  shall  have.  These  cases 
have  been  heard  before  a  full  Court,  and  they  have  received 
our  most  careful  consideration."  Justice  Bradley,  whom  in 
the  judgment  of  Senator  Hoar,  "the  general  voice  of  the  pro 
fession  and  of  his' brethren  of  the  bench  would  place  at  the 
head  of  all  then  living  American  jurists,"  concurred  with  the 
majority  in  a  separate  opinion  of  his  own,  at  once  elaborate 
and  emphatic.  In  the  famous  case  of  Juilliard  vs.  Green- 
man  (110  U.  S.  Reports,  421)  a  third  question  was  tried  out, 
namely,  whether  Congress  has  the  Constitutional  power  to 
make  United  States  Treasury  notes  legal  tender  for  private 
debts  in  peace  as  well  as  in  war.  The  decision  was  again 
in  favor  of  the  greenback,  Field  being  the  only  Justice  to 
register  dissent. 

Though  this  was  the  first  decision  of  the  question  arrived 
at  by  strictly  legal  reasoning,  it  evoked  much  hostile  criti- 


1  Or  five  if  Grier  be  counted.    He  agreed  with  the  majority,  but  re 
signed  before  the  opinion  was  announced. 


"THE   UNITED   STATES  WILL  PAY."  225 

cism.  "The  Financial  Chronicle"  said :  "All  reliance  upon 
Constitutional  inhibition  to  do  anything  with  the  currency 
which  Congress  may  have  a  whim  to  do  must  be  abandoned 
henceforth  and  forever."  The  historian  Bancroft  vented  a 
formidable  brochure,  richer  in  learning  than  in  law,  entitled 
"The  Constitution  Wounded  in  the  House  of  its  Friends." 
The  Court's  logic,  however,  was  not  easily  controverted.  It 
closely  followed  John  Marshall's  reasoning  in  McCulloch  vs. 
Maryland.1  An  enactment  by  Congress  the  Supreme  Court 
presumes  to  be  Constitutional  unless  it  is  certainly  unconsti 
tutional.  If  there  is  doubt  upon  the  point  there  is  no  doubt. 
Congress  is  right.  The  authority  "to  emit  bills  of  credit"  as 
legal  tender  was  not  expressly  delegated  to  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  but  it  may  well  claim  place  in  the  goodly  family 
of  "implied  powers,"  apparently  being  implied  by  its  pro 
hibition  to  the  States,  or  involved  in  the  power  to  borrow 
money,  or  in  that  to  regulate  commerce.  Again,  if  Congress 
could  pass  such  a  law  to  meet  an  exigency,  as  held  in  Parker 
vs.  Davis,  Congress  must  be  left  to  determine  when  the  exi 
gency  exists.  The  intention  of  the  Fathers  to  inhibit  bills 
of  credit  can  not  be  conclusively  shown.  Even  if  it  were 
certain  it  would  be  inconclusive ;  the  question  being  not  what 
they  intended  to  do,  but  what  they  actually  did  in  framing 
and  ratifying  the  Constitution. 

The  wisdom  of  the  legal-tender  law  is  a  different  ques 
tion,  but,  like  the  other,  should  not  be  pronounced  upon  with 
out  reflection.  It  was  easy  to  condemn  it  after  the  event. 
Xo  doubt,  had  conditions  favored,  more  might  have  been 
done,  saving  millions  of  debt  and  half  the  other  financial  evils 
of  war,  to  keep  the  dollar  at  gold  par,  as  by  not  compelling 
gold  payment  of  the  seven-thirty  bonds,  by  heavier  tax  levies, 
by  earlier  resort  to  large  loans,  even  at  high  rates,  instead  of 
emitting  legal-tenders,  and  also  by  forcing  national  banks, 
created  on  purpose  to  help  market  bonds,  to  purchase  new 
ones  directly  from  the  Government.  Yet,  under  the  cir- 

1  4  Wheaton,  p.  421. 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

eumstances,  such  defects  in  our  policy  early  in  the  war  could 
hardly  have  been  avoided,  so  uncertain  were  national  spirit 
and  credit  then,  and  so  little  were  the  magnitude  and  dura 
tion  of  the  war  foreseen.  When  the  old  demand  notes  were 
issued,  more  than  one  professedly  loyal  railroad  corporation 
refused  them  in  payment  of  fares  and  freight.  Hotels  were 
shy  of  them.  A  leading  JSTew  York  bank  refused  to  receive 
them  save  as  a  special  deposit,  though  these  notes,  being  re 
ceivable  for  customs,  like  coin,  went  to  a  premium  along  with 
gold.  One  depositor  in  the  bank  just  referred  to  found  on 
withdrawing  his  deposit  that  his  notes  as  reckoned  in  legal 
tender1  had  advanced  in  value  nearly  or  quite  one  hundred 
and  fifty  per  cent.  People  being  so  shy  of  the  demand  notes, 
what  wonder  that  the  greenbacks,  which  bore  no  interest, 
were  long  in  ill  repute. 

The  nation's  resolute  purpose  to  reduce  its  debt  changed 
this.  When  equal  to  gold,  greenbacks  were  glorified,  and  all 
thoughts  of  retiring  them  gave  wray.  In  1865  Secretary  Mc- 
Culloch  had  boldly  recommended  the  calling  in  of  greenback 
notes  in  preparation  for  the  restoration  of  specie.  The  peo 
ple  were  then  willing  to  submit  to  this.  The  act  of  March 
12,  1866,  authorized  the  cancellation  of  $10,000,000  or  less 
within  six  months,  and  thereafter  of  $4,000,000  or  less  each 
month.  By  this  method  the  amount  was  by  the  end  of  1867 
cut  down  to  $356,000,000,  but  the  act  of  February  4,  1868, 
forbade  any  further  decrease.  Between  March  17,  1872,  and 
January  15,  1874,  the  amount  was  raised  some  $25,000,000, 
but  a  bill  passed  in  1874,  known  as  the  "inflation  bill,"  still 
further  to  increase  it,  was  vetoed  by  President  Grant.  June 
20,  1874,  the  maximum  greenback  circulation  was  placed  at 
$382,000,000,  which  the  operation  of  the  Eesumption  Act  in 
1875  brought  down  to  $346,681,000,  letting  the  gap  be  filled 
by  national  bank  notes.  All  further  retirement  or  cancella 
tion  of  legal-tenders  was  forbidden  by  the  act  approved  May 
31,  1878,  which  provided,  in  part,  that  "it  shall  not  be  law- 

i  Shuckers,  "Life  of  S.  P.  Chase,"  p.  225. 


"THE  UNITED  STATES   WILL  PAY."  227 

ful  ...  to  cancel  or  retire  any  more  of  the  United  States 
legal-tender  notes.  And  when  .  .  .  redeemed  or  received 
into  the  Treasury  .  .  .  they  shall  be  reissued  and  paid  out 
again  and  kept  in  circulation."  Secretary  Sherman  rec 
ommended  the  passage  of  this  law,  as  he  believed  that  the 
retirement  of  greenbacks  pending  the  preparation  for  resump 
tion,  by  reducing  the  volume  of  the  currency,  increased  the 
difficulties  of  resumption. 

This  popularity  of  the  greenbacks  stimulated  to  fresh 
life  the  "fiat-greenback"  theory,  whose  pith  lay  in  the  propo 
sition  that  money  requires  in  its  material  no  labor-cost  value, 
its  purchasing  power  coming  from  the  decree  of  the  public 
authority  issuing  it,  so  that  paper  money  put  forth  by  a  finan 
cially  responsible  Government,  though  involving  no  promise 
whatever,  will  be  the  peer  of  gold.  People  who  held  this 
view  opposed  all  resumption,  proximate  or  remote,  wishing 
to  print  United  States  dollar  notes  each  bearing  the  legend 
"This  is  a  Dollar,"  and  notes  of  other  denominations  simi 
larly,  not  allowing  any  of  them  to  promise  payment  or  to 
have  any  other  relation  whatever  to  coin.  This  idea  was  long 
very  influential  throughout  States  so  conservative  as  Illinois, 
Indiana,  and  Ohio,  where,  in  several  campaigns,  the  able 
stump  addresses  of  men  like  Garfield,  Schurz,  and  Stanley 
Matthews  laid  it  pretty  well  to  rest.  It  was,  however,  the 
rallying  thought  of  the  National  Labor  Greenback  party,  or 
ganized  at  Indianapolis,  May  17,  1876,  when  it  nominated 
Peter  Cooper  for  the  Presidency.  On  the  very  day  that  re 
sumption  went  into  effect  a  Greenbacker  Convention  in  New 
England  declared  it  the  paramount  issue  of  their  party  to 
substitute  greenbacks  for  national  bank  notes. 

The  old  silver  dollar,  "the  Dollar  of  the  Fathers,"  had 
never  ceased  to  be  full  legal  tender  until  1873,  although  it 
had  since  1853  been,  as  compared  with  the  gold  dollar,  too 
valuable  to  circulate  much.  In  1873  a  law  was  unobservedly 
passed  demonetizing  it,  and  making  gold  the  exclusive  form 
of  United  States  full-tender  hard  money. 

That  legislation  of  such  importance  should  have  passed 


228  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

without  general  debate,  either  in  Congress  or  by  the  public, 
was  unfortunate ;  but,  contrary  to  a  very  prevalent  view, 
there  is  no  evidence  that  a  single  Congressional  vote  for  it 
was  secured  by  fraud.  Little  silver  had  been  coined  by  the 
United  States  since  1834.  The  monetary  problem  of  1873 
was  not  that  of  subsequent  years.  Then,  simplicity  of  mone 
tary  system  was  considered  the  great  desideratum,  whereas, 
with  discussion,  authorities  came  to  agree  that  adequacy  in 
volume  is  the  most  important  trait  in  a  hard-money  system. 
In  1873  gold  had  been  for  twenty  years  pouring  out  of  the 
earth  in  immense  sums,  rendering  not  unnatural  the  expec 
tation  that  it  alone,  without  silver,  would  soon  suffice  for  the 
Avorld's  hard-money  stock.  Such  was  then  the  judgment  of 
the  leaders  of  public  opinion  in  all  lands.  It  was  the  view 
of  the  Paris  Conference  in  1867,  which  recommended  the 
general  demonetization  of  silver — a  recommendation  ex 
tremely  influential  in  determining  to  a  gold  policy  the  Ger 
man  Empire,  whose  course  toward  silver  in  1873  was  identi 
cal  with  ours. 

European  opinion  on  the  subject  was  known  and  con 
curred  in  here.  At  intervals  ever  since  1816  representative 
Americans  had  suggested  that  we  should  adopt  Great  Brit 
ain's  metallic  money  system.  In  his  report  of  November 
29,  1851,  the  Director  of  our  Mint  declared  the  "main  fea 
tures"  of  that  system  "eminently  worthy  of  adoption  into  the 
monetary  policy  of  our  own  country."  Hon.  Thomas  Cor- 
win,  of  Ohio,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  whom  no  one 
will  charge  with  obsequiousness  to  England  or  to  the  Money 
Power  at  home,  in  his  Report  of  January  6,  1852,  seconded 
the  recommendation  of  the  Director  of  the  Mint,  carefully 
setting  forth  the  argument  for  adopting  it.  To  the  act  of 
1873  the  Senators  from  Oregon,  California,  and  Nevada 
unanimously  agreed,  At  the  1867  Paris  Conference  the 
United  States  was  (by  delegates)  present  as  a  gold  country, 
Mr.  Seward,  then  Secretary  of  State,  being  responsible  for 
this,  though  no  one  protested.  Inspired  by  such  example  and 
by  the  recommendation  of  the  Conference,  the  Secretary  of 


"THE  UNITED  STATES  WILL  PAY." 

our  Treasury,  in  1870,  drafted  the  bill  discontinuing  the 
silver  dollar,  which  passed  the  Senate  early  in  1871  and 
became  a  law  in  1873. 

But,  while  one  must  thus  discredit  the  allegation  of  fraud 
and  of  sinister  motive  in  this  legislation,  it  nevertheless  seems 
clear  that  the  silver  people  and  the  entire  country  had  a  griev 
ance  in  connection  with  it.  "Xo  man  in  a  position  of  trust 
has  a  right  to  allow  a  measure  of  such  importance  to  pass 
without  calling  attention  sharply  to  it,  and  making  sure  that 
its  bearings  are  fully  comprehended.  And  no  man  who  did 
not  know  that  the  demonetization  of  silver  by  the  United 
States  was  a  measure  of  transcendent  importance  had  any 
right  to  be  on  such  a  committee  or  to  put  his  hand  to  a  bill 
which  touched  the  coinage  of  a  great  country.  Every  one 
knows  that  but  few  members  upon  the  floor  of  Congress  read 
the  text  of  one  in  twenty  of  the  bills  they  have  to  pass  upon ; 
and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  committees  dealing  with  any  class 
of  subjects  to  see  to  it  that  every  proposed  change  is  fully 
explained,  and  that  the  attention  of  the  House  and  of  the 
country  is  fairly  called  to  it.  They  are  not  discharged  of 
their  obligations  simply  by  giving  members  an  opportunity 
to  find  it  out  for  themselves.  If  this  be  a  requirement  of 
ordinary  political  honesty,  much  more  is  it  the  dictate  of  po 
litical  prudence.  An  important  change  in  the  money  or  in 
the  industrial  system  of  a  nation,  if  effected  without  full  and 
free  and  thorough  discussion,  even  though  no  surprise  or 
concealment  be  used,  is  almost  certain  to  be  subsequently  chal 
lenged.  'Things/  says  Bacon,  Svill  have  their  first  or  sec 
ond  agitation :  If  they  be  not  tossed  upon  the  waves  of  coun 
sel,  they  will  be  tossed  upon  the  waves  of  fortune,  and  be  full 
of  inconstancy,  doing  and  undoing,  like  the  reeling  of  a 
drunken  man.'  The  unwisdom  of  a  few  people  assuming  to 
be  wise  for  the  whole  of  a  great  people,  was  never  more  con 
spicuously  shown  than  in  the  demonetization  of  the  silver 
dollar."  *" 

Francis  A.  Walker. 


230  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

An  increased  value  attaching  to  gold  was  soon  apparent, 
or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  a  general  fall  in  prices.  This  be 
gan  so  soon  as  silver  full  money  had  been  laid  aside,  silver 
falling  in  gold  price  almost  exactly  as  products  at  large  fell. 
In  view  of  this  movement,  since  all  Government  bonds  out 
standing  in  1873  were  payable  in  "coin,"  it  was  a  nearly 
universal  belief  in  most  sections  of  the  country  that  the 
annulment  of  the  right  to  pay  debts  in  silver  would,  if  per 
sisted  in,  be  very  unjust  to  taxpayers  in  liquidating  the  na 
tional  debt.  The  Bland  Bill  was  therefore  brought  forward, 
and  in  1878  passed,  restoring  silver  again  to  its  ancient  legal 
equality  with  gold  as  debt-paying  money.  A  clause  of  it 
read :  "Any  owner  of  silver  bullion  may  deposit  the  same  at 
any  coinage  mint  or  assay  office  to  be  coined  into  dollars,  for 
his  benefit,  upon  the  same  terms  and  conditions  as  gold  bul 
lion  is  deposited  for  coinage  under  existing  laws."  In  the 
act  as  finally  passed,  however,  so  great  was  now  the  disparity 
in  value  between  gold  and  silver  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  1,  Con 
gress  did  not  venture  to  give  back  to  the  white  metal  the  right 
of  free  coinage.  In  the  Senate,  at  the  urgent  request  of  Sec 
retary  Sherman,  the  "Allison  tip,"  as  it  was  called,  was  incor 
porated  in  the  bill,  requiring  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  purchase  monthly  not  less  than  two  million  dollars'  worth 
of  silver,  or  more  than  four  million  dollars'  worth,  and  to 
coin  it  into  dollars.  This  amendment  was  concurred  in  by 
the  House.  Spite  of  Secretary  Sherman's  attitude  in  favor 
of  it  the  Bland-Allison  Act  was  disapproved  by  President 
Hayes,  but  immediately  passed  over  his  veto  by  both  Houses 
of  Congress  on  the  same  day,  February  28,  1878.  The  Sen 
ate  vote  was  46  yeas  to  19  nays;  that  of  the  House  196 
to  73. 

The  advocates  of  gold  monometallism  believed  that  the 
issue  of  these  dollars  would  speedily  drive  gold  from  the 
country.  Owing  to  the  limitation  of  the  new  coinage  no  such 
effect  was  experienced,  and  the  silver  dollars  or  the  certifi 
cates  representing  them  floated  at  par  with  gold,  which,  in 
deed,  far  from  leaving  the  country,  was  imported  in  vast 


"THE  UNITED  STATES    WILL  PAY."  231 

amounts  nearly  every  year.  After  1880  the  money  in  cir 
culation  in  the  United  States  was  gold  coin,  silver  coin,  gold 
certificates,  greenbacks  or  United  States  notes,  and  the  notes 
of  the  national  banks.  The  so-called  Sherman  Law,  of  1890, 
added  a  new  category,  the  Treasury  notes  issued  in  payment 
for  silver  bullion.  It  stopped  the  compulsory  coinage  of  full- 
tender  silver,  though  continuing  and  much  increasing  the 
purchase  of  silver  bullion  by  the  Government.  The  repeal  of 
the  purchase  clause  of  this  law,  in  1893,  put  an  end  to  the 
acquisition  of  silver  by  the  United  States. 


232  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS  IN  THE   SEVENTIES. 

The  "Grangers" — Their  Aims — Origin  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce 
Act — Demand  for  Cheap  Transportation — Illinois's  "Three-Cent 
War"  —  Court  Decisions  —  Land-Grant  Colleges  —  Their  Signifi 
cance — Various  Labor  Congresses  and  Platforms — Rise  of  Labor 
Bureaus — The  National  Department  of  Labor — Its  Work,  Meth 
ods,  and  Influence  —  Value  of  the  State  Bureaus  —  Contract- 
Labor  Law — The  Greenback  Party — Peter  Cooper  and  Gen.  But 
ler — Violence  in  the  Labor  Conflict — Causes — Combinations  of 
Capital — Of  Laborers — Black  List  and  Boycott — Labor  War  in 
Pennsylvania — Methods  of  Intimidation — The  "Molly  Maguires" 
— Murder  of  Alexander  Rea — Power  and  Immunity  of  the  Mol 
lies — Plan  for  Exposing  Them — Gowen  and  McParlan — Assassi 
nation  of  Thomas  Sanger — Gowen's  Triumph  and  the  Collapse 
of  the  Conspiracy — Great  Railway  Strike  in  1877 — Riot  at  Pitts- 
burg  —  Death  and  Destruction  —  Scenes  at  Reading  and  Other 
Places — Strikes  Common  from  this  Time  On. 

THE  complaints  evoked  by  industrial  depression  were  in 
due  time  echoed  in  politics.  Agrarian  movements  and  labor 
movements  in  great  numbers — social  phenomena  at  first,  but 
rapidly  evolving  political  significance — marked  the  times. 
One  of  these,  the  California  Sand  Lot  Campaign,  because  of 
its  close  connection  with  the  Chinese  question,  is  deferred  for 
discussion  to  Chapter  XIII.  The  "Grangers,"  or  "Patrons 
of  Husbandry,"  was  a  secret  organization  for  the  promotion 
of  farmers'  interests.  It  was  founded  at  Washington,  De 
cember  4,  18 67,  women  as  well  as  men  being  members.  In 
1868,  there  were  but  11  granges.  The  total  membership  of 
the  order  by  1875,  six  years  from  the  time  when  local  granges 
began  to  be  formed,  was  1,500,000,  distributed  throughout 
nearly  all  the  States,  though  most  numerous  in  the  West  and 
South. 

The  central  aim  of  Granger  agitation  at  first  was  to  se 
cure  better  transportation  and  lower  freight  rates,  particu 
larly  from  the  West  to  the  East.  After  waiting  for  railway 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.       233 

facilities  to  be  developed,  the  shippers  of  grain  and  beef 
found  themselves,  when  railways  were  at  last  supplied,  hardly 
better  off  than  before.  The  vast  demand  for  transportation 
sent  freight  charges  up  to  appalling  figures.  All  sorts  of 
relief  devices  were  considered,  among  them  a  project  for 
opening  canal  and  slack-water  navigation  between  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  the  Atlantic  Coast.  This  was  earnestly  urged 
by  the  Southern  Commercial  Convention  at  Cincinnati  in 
1870. 

The  difficulties  of  freight  transportation  between  the 
States  was  discussed  at  length  by  Congress,  spite  of  railway 
attorneys'  insistence  that  the  subject  was  beyond  Congres 
sional  control.  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  during 
January,  1874,  Hon.  G.  W.  McCrary,  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Railroads  and  Canals,  made  an  exhaustive  report 
affirming  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  to  regulate  in 
terstate  commerce.  This  valuable  paper  laid  bare,  in  Section 
8,  Article  I.,  of  the  Constitution,  a  depth  of  meaning  which, 
till  then,  few  had  suspected,  a  discovery  that  prepared  the 
way  for  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  passed  on  February 
4,  1887. 

A  Xational  Cheap  Transportation  Association  was  or 
ganized  in  Xew  York  on  May  6,  1873,  which  also  demanded 
lower  transportation  rates  and  an  increase  of  avenues  for 
commerce  by  water  and  rail.  Its  manifesto  to  the  public 
asserted  that  cheap  transportation  for  persons  and  property 
is  essential  to  the  public  welfare  and  to  the  maintenance  of  a 
homogeneous  and  harmonious  population.  Another  CtTeap 
Transportation  Convention  was  held  in  Richmond,  December 
1-4,  1874,  which  petitioned  Congress  in  this  interest. 

Discrimination  in  freight  charges  was  a  fruitful  source  of 
discontent.  In  Illinois  a  dispute  known  as  the  "Three-Cent 
War"  intensified  feeling  against  railroads.  This  particular 
trouble  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  Illinois  Central's  disregard 
of  an  order  issued  by  the  Illinois  Railroad  Commissioners, 
limiting  passenger  fares  to  three  cents  per  mile.  The  Com 
missioners'  decree  having  been  found  contrary  to  the  State 


234  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Constitution,  the  Legislature  passed  a  law  to  limit  fares. 
This  the  railroads  fought  with  all  energy  in  both  State  and 
Federal  Courts.  In  November,  1875,  in  the  case  of  the  peo 
ple  against  the  Chicago  and  Alton  Railroad  Company,  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  handed  down  a  decision  sustain 
ing  the  constitutionality  of  the  law.  Several  "Granger'* 
cases  went  to  the  national  Supreme  Court,  which  affirmed  a 
State's  right  to  fix  maximum  railway  charges. 

An  interesting  line  of  educational  development,  though 
originating  otherwise,  at  length  became  connected  with  the 
general  agrarian  movement  here  under  review.  On  July  2,' 
1862,  President  Lincoln  put  his  signature  to  an  act  which 
had  just  passed  Congress,  donating  public  land  to  the  several 
States  and  Territories  which  might  provide  colleges  for  in 
struction  in  branches  of  learning  bearing  on  agriculture  and 
the  mechanic  arts.  By  this  act  every  State  became  entitled 
to  30,000  acres  of  Government  land  for  each  Senator  and 
Representative  falling  to  it  by  the  apportionment  under  the 
census  of  1860.  States  containing  no  United  States  land 
received  land  scrip,  entitling  them,  not  directly  but  through 
their  assignees,  to  locate  and  sell  the  amounts  of  land  respec 
tively  due  them.  All  the  States  and  Territories  in  the 
Union,  without  a  single  exception,  in  the  course  of  time, 
provided  themselves  with  educational  institutions  on  this 
basis.  Some  States  sold  the  scrip  early  and  realized  little. 
Others  carefully  husbanded  the  scrip  and  became  possessed 
of  large  sums,  founding  and  sustaining  educational  institu 
tions  of  vast  usefulness  and  importance. 

'No  State  proceeded  in  this  matter  more  discreetly  than 
New  York.  Her  share  amounted  to  a  million  acres  less  ten 
thousand.  Seventy-five  thousand  acres  of  this  were  sold  at 
about  eighty-five  cents  an  acre.  In  the  fall  of  1863  Ezra 
Cornell  purchased  a  hundred  thousand  acres  for  fifty  thou 
sand  dollars,  upon  condition  that  all  the  profits  accruing 
from  the  sale  should  be  paid  to  Cornell  University.  Next 
year  the  rest  was  purchased  at  thirty  cents  an  acre,  with 
thirty  cents  more  contingent  upon  Mr.  Cornell's  realizing 


AGRARIAN  AND   LABOR  MOVEMENTS.  235 

that  sum  upon  sale  of  the  land.  In  1874  Cornell  University 
was  subrogated  to  Mr.  Cornell's  place  in  dealing  with  the 
State,  and  from  the  lands  handed  over  by  him  the  Board  of 
Trustees  had  in  1894-95  realized  a  net  return  of  nearly  four 
million  dollars.  »• 

On  March  2,  1887,  there  was  approved  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States  another  piece  of  land-grant  legislation, 
known  as  the  Hatch  Act.  This  act  was  intended  to  diffuse 
"useful  and  practical  information  on  subjects  connected  with 
agriculture,  and  to  promote  scientific  investigation  and  ex 
periment  respecting  the  principles  and  applications  of  agri 
cultural  science."  For  these  purposes  each  State  received 
from  the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  this  act,  the  sum  of 
$15,000  a  year,  which  was  expended  in  connection  with  some 
agricultural  experiment  station  or  stations.  The  act  pre 
supposed  that  these  stations  would,  as  a  rule,  be  established  in 
conjunction  with  the  institutions  receiving  the  benefit  of  the 
act  of  1862,  and  most  of  them  were  so  associated ;  but  the 
Hatch  Act,  in  its  8th  Section,  provided  that  States  electing 
so  to  do  might  join  their  experiment  stations  to  agricultural 
schools  separate  from  the  colleges  erected  under  the  act  of 
1862,  and  this  was  done  in  a  few  States.  By  a  third  act  of 
Congress,  approved  August  30,  1890,  entitled  "An  Act  to 
apply  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands  to  the 
more  complete  endowment  and  support  of  the  colleges  for  the 
benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  established  un 
der  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  Congress  approved  July  2, 
1862,"  each  of  the  States  became  entitled  to  $15,000  for  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1890,  $16,000  for  the  United  States 
fiscal  year  1890-91,  $17,000  for  the  next  fiscal  year,  and  so 
on,  the  sum  increasing  by  $1,000  each  year,  till  it  reached 
$25,000  a  year,  which  was  the  permanent  annual  appropria 
tion.  A  good  endowment  in  itself! 

In  the  more  fortunate  sections  of  the  country  these  Gov 
ernment  grants  simply  made  welcome  additions  to  the  excel 
lent  educational  facilities  in  existence  already.  In  the  South 
and  the  far  West  they  meant,  educationally,  life  from  the 


236  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

dead.  Good  schools  rose  even  upon  the  frontiers,  where  the 
children  of  poorest  farmers  and  mechanics  might,  at  a  nomi 
nal  cost,  fit  themselves  for  high  stations  in  life.  Large  and 
fruitful  experimentation,  especially  in  agriculture,  was  made 
possible.  In  turn  these  colleges  of  agriculture  and  the  me 
chanic  arts  became  rallying  centres  for  agrarian  and  populist 
interest,  which  involved  them  in  politics,  and  at  least  in  cer 
tain  instances  much  hindered  their  usefulness. 

In  1865  a  Labor  "Congress"  was  held  at  Louisville,  with 
but  twenty-five  or  thirty  delegates.  A  second  sat  at  Balti 
more  in  August,  the  next  year,  whose  proceedings  attracted 
some  attention.  Labor  agitation  had  by  this  time  assumed 
considerable  proportions,  most,  perhaps,  in  Massachusetts, 
where  the  Knights  of  St.  Crispin  throve  so  early  as  1868. 
Able  men  and  influential  newspapers  began  to  espouse  the^ 
labor  cause.  The  Congress  of  1867  was  held  in  Chicago,  and 
it  mooted  a  scheme  of  labor  unions,  city,  county,  and  State. 
The  Congress  of  1868  was  in  New  York,  that  of  1869  in 
Philadelphia.  These  marked  little  progress ;  but  the  Na 
tional  Labor  Congress  which  met  in  Cincinnati,  August  15, 
1870,  was  said  to  represent  four  hundred  thousand  people. 
It  demanded  Treasury  notes  not  based  on  coin,  an  eight-hour 
workday,  the  exclusion  of  Chinese  laborers  from  the  coun 
try,  and  the  creation  of  a  National  Department  of  Labor. 

Till  now  the  movement  was  non-political,  but  the  Chi 
cago  Congress,  by  a  close  vote,  adopted  a  resolution  creating 
an  independent  political  organization  to  be  known  as  the 
National  Labor  Eeform  Party.  The  party  at  once  began 
to  have  influence.  In  the  Massachusetts  election  of  1870 
it  fused  with  the  Prohibitionists,  making  Wendell  Phillips 
the  candidate  for  Governor,  who  received  nearly  twenty-two 
thousand  of  the  about  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  thousand 
votes  which  were  cast.  One  labor  reformer  was  elected  to 
the  Massachusetts  Senate,  and  eleven  to  the  House.  In  1871 
the  Congress  met  at  St.  Louis,  August  10th.  Little  was  done 
here  beyond  adopting  a  platform  on  which  it  was  proposed 
to  appeal  to  the  country  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1872. 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.       237 

This  platform,  slightly  modified,  was  launched  at  the 
Columbus  Convention,  which  met  on  February  21,  1872. 
Twelve  States  were  represented.  The  Convention  demanded 
as  the  nation's  money,  greenbacks  not  based  on  coin.  A 
tariff  taxing  luxuries  and  protecting  home  industries,  a  law 
for  an  eight-hour  labor-day,  and  the  governmental  control 
of  railways  and  telegraphs  were  also  insisted  on.  Hon. 
David  Davis  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  but  declined 
to  run.  Subsequently  Charles  O' Conor  was  named.  The 
Forty-Second  Congress,  second  session,  discussed  at  length 
some  of  the  Labor  Party's  proposals,  but  did  nothing  to  re 
alize  any  of  them.  An  attempt  was  made  to  erect  a  Labor 
Commission,  but  for  the  present  in  vain.  The  first  State 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  had  been  established  in  1869  in 
Massachusetts,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Labor  Party 
showed  exceptional  strength.  Pennsylvania  followed  in 
1872,  Connecticut  in  1873-75.  By  the  end  of  1884  eleven 
other  States  had  bureaus.  From  1884  to  1894  thirteen  more 
were  erected.  At  last,  by  an  Act  of  Congress,  approved 
June  13,  1888,  an  independent  Department  of  Labor  was 
established  by  the  Federal  Government,  a  bureau  with  sim 
ilar  functions  having  existed  in  connection  with  the  Interior 
Department  since  1884. 

The  act  of  1888  provided  that  the  design  and  duty  of  the 
new  department  should  be  "to  acquire  and  diffuse  among  the 
people  of  the  United  States  useful  information  on  subjects 
connected  with  labor,  in  the  most  general  and  comprehensive 
sense  of  that  word,  and  especially  upon  its  relation  to  capital, 
the  hours  of  labor,  the  earnings  of  laboring  men  and  women, 
and  the  means  of  promoting  their  material,  social,  intellec 
tual,  and  moral  prosperity," 

1  Section  7  of  the  act  provides,  more  specifically,  that  the  Commis 
sioner  "is  specially  charged  to  ascertain,  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible, 
and  whenever  industrial  changes  shall  make  it  essential,  the  cost  of  pro 
ducing  articles  at  the  time  dutiable  in  the  United  States,  in  leading 
countries  where  such  articles  are  produced,  by  fully  specified  units  of 
production,  and  under  a  classification  showing  the  different  elements  of 
cost,  or  approximate  cost,  of  such  articles  of  production,  including  the 


238  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Clothed  with  these  powers  the  Commissioner  undertook 
investigations  into  such  matters  as  industrial  depressions,  con 
vict  labor,  strikes  and  lockouts,  the  condition  of  working 
women  in  large  cities,  railroad  labor,  cost  of  production, 
wages,  and  cost  of  living  abroad  and  in  this  country,  prices, 
marriage,  and  divorce.  The  results  of  these  investigations 
were  rigidly  verified  both  in  copy  and  in  proof,  and  scruti 
nized  for  internal  discrepancies.  The  information  was  col 
lected  through  personal  interviews  and  statements  directly 
from  parties  cognizant  of  the  ultimate  facts.  The  Depart 
ment's  special  agents  were  generally  accorded  a  kind  recep 
tion,  and  more  and  more,  as  it  appeared  that  no  person's  name 
was  betrayed,  were  by  manufacturers  in  this  and  in  other 
countries  given  access  to  books  and  accounts.  Estimates, 
hearsay,  and  opinions  were  wholly  excluded  from  considera 
tion,  and  the  returns  made  upon  carefully  prepared  schedules 
of  inquiry  in  the  hands  of  experts. 

The  American  Department  of  Labor  established  its  stand 
ing  by  its  first  report  upon  "Industrial  Depressions,"  made 
with  experienced  help  and  in  face  of  many  difficulties.  After 
experience,  the  Department  maintaining  a  non-partisan  and  a 

wages  paid  in  such  industries  per  day,  week,  month,  or  year,  or  by  the 
piece;  and  hours  employed  per  day;  and  the  profits  of  the  manufactur 
ers  and  producers  of  such  articles;  and  the  comparative  cost  of  living, 
and  the  kind  of  living.  'It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Commissioner  also 
to  ascertain  and  report  as  to  the  effect  of  the  customs  laws,  and  the 
effect  thereon  of  the  state  of  the  currency  in  the  United  States,  on  the 
agricultural  industry,  especially  as  to  its  effects  on  mortgage  indebted 
ness  on  farmers;'  and  what  articles  are  controlled  by  trusts,  or  other 
combinations  of  capital,  business  operations,  or  labor,  and  what  effect 
said  trusts -or  other  combinations  of  capital,  business  operations,  or  labor 
have  on  production  and  prices.  He  shall  also  establish  a  system  of  re 
ports  by  which,  at  intervals  of  not  less  than  two  years,  he  can  report 
the  general  condition,  so  far  as  production  is  concerned,  of  the  leading 
industries  of  the  country.  The  Commissioner  of  Labor  is  also  specially 
charged  to  investigate  the  causes  of,  and  facts  relating  to,  all  contro 
versies  and  disputes  between  employers  and  employees  as  they  may  oc 
cur,  and  which  may  tend  to  interfere  with  the  welfare  of  the  people  of 
the  different  States,  and  report  thereon  to  Congress.  The  Commissioner  of 
Labor  shall  also  obtain  such  information  upon  the  various  subjects  com 
mitted  to  him  as  he  may  deem  desirable  from  different  foreign  nations, 
and  what,  if  any,  convict-made  goods  are  imported  into  this  country, 
and  if  so,  from  whence." 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.       239 

non-propagandist  attitude,  its  reports  came  to  be  looked  upon 
at  home  and  abroad  as  the  highest  attainable  evidence  in  their 
line.  They  were  quoted  in  Parliament,  in  the  Reichstag,  and 
in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  Foreign  countries,  notably 
England,  France,  Germany,  and  Belgium,  established  sim 
ilar  bureaus. 

The  State  Labor  Bureaus  also  well  served  the  public, 
though  the  spoils  system  and  the  changeable  gusts  of  local 
public  opinion  hindered  their  usefulness.  One  New  York 
Commissioner  was  at  one  time  thought  to  have  used  his 
office  for  partisan  ends,  but  no  other  functionary  of  his  class 
fell  under  such  suspicion.  On  the  contrary,  practical  good  of 
the  most  pronounced  sort  was  traceable  in  greater  or  less  de 
gree  to  these  bureaus.  The  tenement-house  evil  and  the 
sweat-shop,  if  not  banished,  were  thoroughly  advertised  by 
them.  Child  labor  laws,  laws  prescribing  maximum  hours  of 
labor,  and  employers'  liability  laws  were  placed  upon  many 
statute  books  mainly  through  the  bureaus'  influence.  Though 
not  banished,  the  "truck"  or  "pluck-me"  store,  whereby  the 
employer-store-owner,  forcing  his  employees'  patronage,  left 
them  hardly  a  driblet  of  wages,  was  rendered  far  less  com 
mon  than  it  had  been.  Weekly  in  place  of  monthly  wage  pay 
ments  were  made  more  common.  Frauds  upon  laboring  men 
and  false  labor  statistics  were  exposed.  Thus  when  in  1878 
complaint  was  made  that  Massachusetts  had  from  200,000  to 
300,000  unemployed  in  her  borders,  the  State  bureau  showed 
•this  estimate  to  be  exaggerated  from  seven  to  ten  times. 
Similarly  State  labor  statistics,  subsequently  corroborated 
by  the  census,  in  effect  bisected  certain  wild  estimates  of 
mortgage  indebtedness,  pointing  out  that  nine-tenths  of  this 
indebtedness  indicated  prosperity  rather  than  poverty. 

All  welcomed  the  Act  of  Congress,  approved  August  3, 
1882,  forbidding  convicts,  lunatics,  idiots,  and  paupers  to 
enter  the  United  States  from  other  lands.  Under  this  act, 
up  to  January  30,  1893,  an  average  of  about  eleven  hundred 
persons  per  annum,  mostly  paupers,  were  shipped  back  across 
the  ocean.  February  18,  1885,  a  stringent  contract-labor  law 


240  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

was  passed,  making  it  unlawful  for  any  person,  company,  or 
corporation  to  assist  or  encourage  the  immigration  into  the 
United  States  of  any  alien  under  contract  or  agreement  pre 
viously  made,  every  such  contract  to  be  void,  and  each  viola 
tion  of  the  law  finable  in  the  sum  of  $1,000.  An  amendment 
passed  in  1885  excepted  professional  actors,  artists,  lecturers, 
singers,  persons  employed  strictly  as  domestic  servants,  and 
even  skilled  wrorkmen  for  a  new  industry  which  could  not  be 
established  without  such.  Also  the  law  did  not  forbid  a  per 
son  from  assisting  to  this  country  members  of  his  or  her  fam 
ily  intending  to  settle  here.  The  amendment  referred  to  pro 
vided  for  the  return  of  persons  who  had  come  to  the  United 
States  on  labor  contracts  before  the  law  was  passed.  Under 
this  provision  nearly  eight  thousand  persons  had  been  up  to 
1888  sent  back  to  Europe.  During  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,  1893,  464  persons  were  thus  returned.  New  York 
State  having  voted  a  tax  of  fifty  cents  upon  each  immigrant 
landing  in  its  ports,  the  money  to  be  for  the  maintenance  of 
an  Immigration  Commission,  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  declared  the  act  unconstitutional,  whereupon  Congress 
passed  an  act  levying  the  same  impost  as  a  Federal  tax,  its 
proceeds  to  go  for  the  support  of  State  Immigration  Com 
missions  in  the  States  where  most  immigrants  arrived.  The 
New  York  Commission  wrought  incalculable  good  in  pre 
venting  frauds  upon  immigrants,  and  in  assisting  them  to 
their  destination. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Resumption  Act,  January  14, 
1875,  the  forces  of  labor  reform  were  quite  generally  directed 
against  the  policy  of  contraction.  A  convention  of  anti-con- 
tractionists  met  in  Detroit,  on  August  23,  1875.  Protesting 
that  they  were  not  inflationists,  they  yet  earnestly  deprecated 
any  diminution  in  the  volume  of  currency,  which  they  would 
maintain  by  greenbacks  redeemable  only  in  bonds,  these,  in 
turn,  being  convertible  into  greenbacks. 

The  Independents,  known  as  the  National  Greenback 
Party,  assembled  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  on  May  17,  1876. 
Two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  delegates  were  present  from 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.  241 

nineteen  States.  The  platform  was  essentially  a  demand  for 
the  immediate  and  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Resumption 
Act  and  for  the  issue  of  United  States  notes  convertible  on 
demand  into  Government  obligations  bearing  a  low  rate  of 
interest,  such  notes  to  form  our  circulating  medium,  and  such 
bonds,  re-exchangeable  for  notes  at  the  option  of  the  holder, 
to  render  needless  any  further  sales  of  bonds  payable  in  coin. 
Peter  Cooper  was  the  nominee  for  President,  Newton  Booth 
for  Vice-P resident.  Mr.  Booth  declining,  Samuel  F.  Carey, 
of  Ohio,  was  chosen  in  his  stead.  Mr.  Cooper  accepted  the 
nomination  conditionally,  expressing  the  hope  that  the  Inde 
pendents  might  attain  their  aims  through  either  the  Republi 
can  or  the  Democratic  party,  permitting  him  "to  step  aside 
and  remain  in  that  quiet  which  was,"  he  declared,  "most  con 
genial  to  his  nature  and  time  of  life."  Cooper  ran,  however, 
receiving  82,640  votes.  The  next  year  his  party  polled  187,- 
095  votes,  and  in  1878,  1,000,365.  The  Greenback  or  Na 
tional  Greenback-Labor  Party  entered  actively  into  the  can 
vass  of  1880,  running  General  J.  B.  Weaver  for  President, 
who  polled  307,740  votes.  Four  years  later  General  B.  F. 
Butler  was  the  Presidential  candidate  both  of  this  party  and 
of  the  "Anti-monopoly"  party.  He  received  133,825  votes. 
Happy  had  it  been  for  the  country  could  we  have  diverted 
the  entire  force  of  the  labor  agitation  into  political  channels. 
But  this  was  impossible.  The  worst  labor  troubles  of  these 
years  had  to  be  settled  not  at  the  polls  but  by  force.  This 
was  mainly  due  to  the  large  number  of  immigrants  now  arriv 
ing,  among  them  Hungarians,  Poles,  Italians,  and  Portu 
guese,  usually  ignorant  clay  for  the  hand  of  the  first  unscru 
pulous  demagogue.  Another  cause  of  the  labor  wars  was  the 
wide  and  sedulous  inculcation  in  this  country  of  the  social- 
democratic,  communist,  and  anarchist  doctrines  long  preva 
lent  in  Europe.  Influences  concurrent  with  both  these  were 
the  actual  injustice  and  the  haughty  and  overbearing  manner 
of  many  employers.  Capital  had  been  mismanaged  and 
wasted.  The  war  had  brought  unearned  fortunes  to  many, 
sudden  wealth  to  a  much  larger  number,  while  the  unex- 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.— IT. 


242  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ampled  prosperity  of  the  country  raised  up  in  a  perfectly 
normal  manner  a  wealthy  class,  the  like  of  which,  in  number 
and  power,  our  country  had  never  known  before.  As,  there 
fore,  immigration,  along  with  much  else,  multiplied  the  poor, 
the  eternal  angry  strife  of  wealth  with  poverty,  of  high  with 
low,  of  classes  with  masses,  crossed  over  from  Europe  and 
began  on  our  shores. 

The  rise  of  trusts  and  gigantic  corporations  was  con 
nected  with  this  struggle.  Corporations  worth  nigh  half 
a  billion  dollars  apiece  were  able  to  buy  or  defy  legislatures 
and  make  or  break  laws  as  they  pleased;  and  since  such  cor 
porations,  instead  of  individuals,  more  and  more  became  the 
employers  of  labor,  not  only  did  the  old-time  kindliness  be 
tween  help  and  hirers  die  out,  but  men  the  most  cool  and 
intelligent  feared  the  new  power,  as  a  menace  to  democracy. 
Strikes,  therefore,  commanded  large  public  sympathy.  Stock- 
watering  and  other  vicious  practices,  involving  the  ruin 
of  corporators  themselves  by  the  few  holders  of  a  majority 
of  the  shares  in  order  to  repurchase  the  property  for  next  to 
nothing,  contributed  to  this  hostility.  So  did  the  presence, 
in  many  great  corporations,  of  foreign  capital  and  capitalists, 
and  also  the  mutual  favoritism  of  corporations,  showing  it 
self,  for  instance,  in  special  freight  rates  to  privileged  con 
cerns.  Minor  interests,  and  particularly  employees,  power 
less  against  these  Titan  agencies  by  any  legal  process,  re 
sorted  to  counter-organization.  Labor  agitation  was  facili 
tated  by  the  extraordinary  increase  of  urban  population,  it 
being  mostly  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industry  which 
brought  the  hordes  of  workmen  together.  Trades-unions  se 
cured  rank  development.  The  Knights  of  Labor,  intended  as 
a  sort  of  union  of  them  all,  attained  a  membership  of  a  mil 
lion.  The  manufacturers'  "black  list,"  to  prevent  any  "agi 
tator"  laborer  from  securing  work,  was  answered  by  the 
"boycott,"  to  keep  the  products  of  obnoxious  establishments 
from  finding  sale.  Labor  organizations  so  strong  often 
tyrannized  over  their  own  members,  and  boycotting  became 
a  nuisance  that  had  to  be  abated  by  law. 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.       243 

In  the  Pennsylvania  mining  districts  labor  troubles  early 
became  acute.  The  great  coal  barons,  offending  the  public 
by  pricing  their  indispensable  product  extortionately  high, 
long  received  no  sympathy  and  no  aid  in  repressing  em 
ployees'  crimes.  During  1873,  1874,  and  1875,  these  grew 
frightfully  common.  Usually  the  motive  seemed  to  be  not 
so  much  to  injure  employers'  property  as  to  scare  "scab" 
help  from  the  mines  during  contests  against  "cuts"  in  wages. 
A  cut  at  the  Ben  Franklin  Colliery  had  been  accepted  by  the 
men,  who  were  peaceably  at  work,  when  the  "breaker"  was 
burned,  throwing  them  all  out.  Another  "breaker"  near  by 
a  gang  of  strikers  fired  almost  by  daylight,  first  driving  the 
workmen  away. 

A  common  method  of  intimidation  was  for  ten  or  twelve 
roughs  to  form  a  gang,  and,  armed,  to  sweep  through  a  min 
ing  camp,  forcing  every  man  to  join ;  the  numbers  so  col 
lected  being  soon  sufficient  to  overawe  any  inclined  to  resist, 
June  3,  1875,  one  thousand  men  thus  gathered  stopped  work 
at  several  mines  near  Mahanoy  City,  and  a  similar  band  did 
the  same  at  Shenandoah.  At  night  there  was  an  attempt  to 
derail  a  passenger  train  approaching  Shenandoah,  but  the 
plot  was  discovered  in  time.  The  same  night  a  "breaker" 
near  Mount  Carmel  went  up  in  smoke,  and  a  few  days  later 
two  contractors  at  the  Oakdale  mine  were  shot. 

For  a  time  every  passenger  train  on  the  Reading  Railroad 
had  to  be  preceded  through  the  mining  districts  by  a  locomo 
tive  carrying  an  armed  posse.  Watchmen  and  station  agents 
were  beaten;  loaded  cars  and  other  obstructions  were  put 
upon  main  tracks;  switches  were  misplaced  and  warehouses 
plundered.  At  every  cut  or  forest  along  the  line  'lay  armed 
assassins  to  shoot  trainmen  and  passengers.  Each  engineer 
ran  his  train,  his  left  hand  on  the  throttle,  his  right  clutching 
a  revolver. 

Bosses  and  "scabs"  specially  hated  by  the  desperate 
miners  were  served  with  notices  denouncing  vengeance  on 
them  if  they  did  not  leave. 

One  admonition  ran: 


244  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

"Now  men  i  have  warented  ye  before  and  i  willnt  warind 
you  no  mor — but  i  will  gwrintee  you  the  will  be  the  report 
of  the  revolver." 

A  rude  drawing  of  a  revolver  was  subjoined  as  the  au 
thor's  sign  manual. 

Others  were  as  follows: 

"NOTICE 

"Any  blackleg  that  takes  a  Union  Man's  job  While  He 
is  standing  for  His  Eights  will  have  a  hard  Koad  to  travel 
and  if  He  don't  he  will  have  to  Suffer  the  Consequences." 

This  "Notice"  was  followed  by  a  picture  of  a  dead  man 
in  his  coffin,  and  signed  "BEACHEK  AND  TILTON." 

At  Locust  Summit,  March  31,  1875,  was  posted  the  fol- 
l°™g:  «NoTICE 

"Mr.  Black-legs  if  you  don't  leave  in  2  days  time  You 
meet  your  doom  there  vill  Be  an  Open  war — imeateatly — " 

Such  threats,  unless  heeded,  were  nearly  always  executed. 
Among  others  notified  in  these  ways  was  one  McCarron,  a 
policeman  in  Tamaqua,  who  had  aroused  the  enmity  of 
"Powder  Keg"  Carrigan.  Two  men  were  detailed  to  kill 
McCarron  late  on  a  given  night,  and  hid  themselves  for  this 
purpose  near  his  beat.  But  on  this  night  McCarron  hap 
pened  to  have  changed  beats  with  another  policeman  named 
Yost,  an  old  soldier,  whom  all,  even  the  Mollies,  liked. 
Climbing  a  lamp-post  ladder  early  in  the  morning  to  turn 
out  the  gas,  Yost  was  fatally  shot  by  the  men  who  had  been 
lying  low  for  McCarron. 

The  chief  source  of  these  atrocities  was  a  secret  society 
known  as  the  "Mollie  Maguires,"  their  name  and  spirit  both 
imported  from  Ireland.  They  terrorized  the  entire  Schuyl- 
kill  and  Shamokin  districts.  A  superintendent  or  a  boss 
was  attacked,  beaten  or  shot  down  somewhere  almost  every 
day.  Gangs  of  these  thugs  would  waylay  a  victim  in  the 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.       245 

field  or  by  the  roadside  if  they  could,  but,  failing  in  this, 
they  surrounded  his  house,  forced  him  out,  and  did  him  to 
death.  Among  the  most  brutal  of  their  murders  was  that  of 
Alexander  Rea,  a  mine  superintendent,  pounded  and  shot 
to  death  in  October,  1868.  Driving  along  a  lonely  road  be 
tween  Mount  Carmel  and  Centralia,  supposed  to  be  going 
to  pay  off  his  men,  and  therefore  to  have  $19,000,  more  or 
less,  in  his  buggy,  he  was  set  upon  by  a  gang  of  Mollies, 
among  them  Dooley  (or  Tully),  McHugh,  and  "Kelly  the 
Bum."  After  filling  themselves  with  liquor,  the  squad,  at 
dawn,  hid  in  a  piece  of  woods  through  which  their  victim 
was  to  pass,  and,  upon  his  approach,  rushed  at  him,  pistols 
in  hand.  "Kelly  the  Bum'7  fired  first.  Rea  piteously  begged 
for  his  life.  He  happened  on  this  occasion  to  have  only  $60 
with  him,  having  paid  at  the  colliery  the  day  previous,  a 
day  earlier  than  usual;  but  he  offered  his  assailants  all  he 
had,  as  well  as  his  watch,  agreeing  also  to  sign  a  check  for 
any  amount  if  they  would  spare  him.  In  vain.  Having 
fired  several  bullets  into  the  wretched  man,  they  made  sure 
of  the  work  with  clubs  and  the  butts  of  their  revolvers.  The 
bloody  conspirators  wrere  subsequently  tried,  convicted,  and 
hanged  for  this  murder,  save  "Kelly  the  Bum,"  who  got  off 
by  turning  State's  evidence. 

Law-abiding  people  feared  to  stir  out  after  dark,  or  even 
by  day,  unless  well  armed.  The  Mollies  had  their  signs  and 
passwords  for  use  when  necessary,  but  they  grew  so  bold  that 
such  devices  were  rarely  needed.  In  case  of  arrest  plenty 
of  perjurers  were  ready  to  swear  an  alibi,  though  not  a 
witness  could  be  drummed  up  for  the  State.  The  Mollies 
nominated  officers  and  controlled  elections.  Members  of  the 
Order  became  chiefs  of  police,  constables,  and  county  com 
missioners.  One  of  them  came  very  near  being  elected  to 
the  Schuylkill  County  bench.  Superintendents  of  jobs  had 
to  hire  and  discharge  men  at  the  Mollies'  behest,  or  be  shot. 
At  a  certain  State  election  a  high  State  official  gave  the 
Order  large  money  for  casting  its  vote  his  way.  Jack 
Kehoe,  a  leading  Mollie,  when  in  prison  for  murder,  boasted 


246  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

that  if  he  were  convicted  and  sentenced  "the  old  man  up 
at  Harrisburg"  would  never  let  him  swing.  The  entire 
power  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  region  was  used  against 
the  Order,  but  in  vain. 

The  principal  honor  of  exposing  and  suppressing  this 
Pennsylvania  Mafia  is  due  to  Hon.  Franklin  B.  Gowen,  a 
lawyer,  at  the  time  President  of  the  Pennsylvania  and 
Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Co.  Knowing  the  uselessness  of  at 
tempting  the  work  with  the  local  police,  he,  in  1873,  se 
cured  from  Pinkerton's  Detective  Agency  in  Chicago  the 
services  of  one  James  McParlan,  a  young  Irishman  of  phe 
nomenal  tact  and  grit,  to  go  among  the  Mollies  as  a  secret 
detective.  ~No  bolder,  no  more  dangerous,  no  more  telling 
work  was  ever  wrought  by  a  detective  than  that  now  under 
taken  by  McParlan.  Calling  himself  McKenna,  he  began 
operations  in  the  autumn  of  1873.  By  stating  that  he  had 
killed  a  man  in  Buffalo  and  that  his  favorite  business  had 
been  "shoving  the  queer,"  he  was  at  once  admitted  to  the 
Order,  and  soon  became  one  of  its  prominent  officers.  He 
seems,  however,  to  have  been  from  the  first  the  object  of 
some  suspicion,  so  that  the  progress  of  his  mission  was  slow. 

It  was  not  till  1875  that  McParlan's  work  began  to  tell. 
Two  murders  to  which  he  was  privy  he  unfortunately  could 
not  prevent,  so  closely  was  he  watched.  One  of  these  was 
that  of  Thomas  Sanger,  a  young  English  boss  miner.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  September  1st  Sanger  started  from  his 
house  to  his  work.  Hardly  out  of  sight  of  his  door  a  man 
faced  him  and  shot  him  through  the  arm.  Running  round  a 
house  near  by  he  was  met  by  a  second  villain,  pistol  in  hand. 
Turning,  he  stumbled  and  fell,  just  as  a  third  appeared,  who 
shot  him  fatally.  A  fourth  deliberately  turned  the  body 
over  so  as  to  make  sure  of  hitting  a  vital  part,  and  shot  him 
again.  Robert  Heaton,  an  employer,  heard  the  firing  and 
rushed,  armed,  to  Sanger's  aid.  The  murderers  fled.  Poor, 
brave  Sanger,  bleeding  to  death,  told  Heaton :  "Never  mind 
me,  give  it  to  them,  Bob."  Sanger's  agonized  wife,  from 
whom  he  had  just  parted,  reached  his  prostrate  form  barely 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.       247 

in  time  to  hear  him  gasp:  "Kiss  me,  Sarah,  for  I  am 
dying." 

The  assassins  escaped  Heaton,  but  went  straight  to  the 
house  where  McParlan  was,  acquainting  him  with  every  de 
tail  of  their  bloody  deed.  Gowen  had  employed  him  on  the 
express  condition  that  he  should  never  be  called  as  a  witness 
or  be  required  in  any  way  to  show  his  hand,  but  when  arrests 
were  made  the  Mollies  suspected  him,  so  that  it  appeared  to 
be  his  safest  course  to  come  out  openly  for  the  prosecution. 
Going  upon  the  witness  stand,  he  demolished  the  sham  alibi 
which  the  culprits  sought  to  establish,  and  gave  clews  which 
led  to  the  extirpation  of  the  entire  gang.  Schuylkill  County, 
where  the  worst  crimes  had  occurred,  rose  in  its  might  and 
stamped  out  the  conspiracy.  A  small  army  of  alibi  witnesses 
were  punished  for  perjury.  Nine  of  the  Mollies  were  sen 
tenced  to  death,  and  most  of  the  other  leaders  imprisoned 
for  long  terms. 

"Then,"  said  Mr.  Gowen,  who  acted  as  counsel  for  the 
prosecution,  "we  knew  that  we  were  free  men.  Then  we 
could  go  to  Patsy  Collins,  the  commissioner  of  this  county, 
and  say  to  him :  'Build  well  the  walls  of  the  new  addition  to 
the  prison;  dig  the  foundations  deep  and  make  them  strong; 
put  in  good  masonry  and  iron  bars;  for,  as  the  Lord  liveth, 
the  time  will  come  when,  side  by  side  with  William  Love, 
the  murderer  of  Squire  Gwither,  you  will  enter  the  walls 
that  you  are  now  building  for  others.'  Then  we  could  say 
to  Jack  Kehoe,  the  high  constable  of  a  great  borough  in 
this  county:  'We  have  no  fear  of  you.'  Then  we  could  say 
to  Ned  Monaghan,  chief  of  police  and  murderer  and  assassin : 
'Behind  you  the  scaffold  is  prepared  for  your  reception/ 
Then  we  could  say  to  Pat  Conry,  commissioner  of  this 
county :  'The  time  has  ceased  when  a  Governor  of  this  State 
dares  to  pardon  a  Mollie  Maguire — you  have  had  your  last 
pardon.'  Then  we  could  say  to  John  Slattery,  who  was  al 
most  elected  judge  of  this  court :  'We  know  that  of  you  that 
it  were  better  you  had  not  been  born  than  that  it  should  be 
known.'  Then  all  of  us  looked  up.  Then,  at  last,  we  were 


248  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

free,  and  I  came  to  this  county  and  walked  through  it  as 
safely  as  in  the  most  crowded  thoroughfares  of  Phila 
delphia." 

The  times  evoked  a  specially  bitter  feeling  against  great 
railway  corporations,  and  a  widespread  desire  to  set  legal 
limitations  to  their  power.  Their  reckless  rivalries,,  their 
ruinous  borrowing  and  extravagance  were  freely  criticised 
even  by  such  as  did  not  deem  themselves  injured  thereby; 
but  their  employees  were  rendered  frantic. 

The  most  desperate  and  extensive  strike  that  had  yet 
occurred  in  this  country  was  that  of  1877,  by  the  employees 
of  the  principal  railway  trunk  lines — the  Baltimore  &  Ohio, 
the  Pennsylvania,  the  Erie,  the  New  York  Central,  and 
their  Western  prolongations.  The  immediate  grievance  was 
a  ten  per  cent  "wage  cut,"  reinforced,  however,  by  irregu 
lar  employment,  irregular  and  tardy  payment,  forced  pa 
tronage  of  "pluck-me"  hotels,  and  the  like.  On  some  roads 
the  trainmen  were  assessed  the  cost  of  accidents.  At  a  pre 
concerted  time  junctions  and  other  main  points  were  seized. 
Freight  traffic  on  the  roads  named  was  entirely  suspended, 
and  the  passenger  and  mail  service  greatly  impeded.  When 
new  employees  sought  to  work,  militia  had  to  be  called  out 
to  preserve  order.  Pittsburg  was  the  scene  of  a  bloody  riot. 
At  Martinsburg,  also  at  Pittsburg,  a  great  part  of  the  State 
troops  sympathized  with  the  strikers  and  would  not  fire  upon 
them.  At  Pittsburg,  where  the  mob  was  immense  and  most 
furious,  the  Philadelphia  militia  were  besieged  in  a  round 
house,  which  it  was  then  attempted  to  burn  by  lighting  oil 
cars  and  pushing  them  against  it,  until  the  soldiers  were 
compelled  to  evacuate.  Fortunately  they  made  good  their 
retreat  with  only  four  killed.  The  militia  having  had  sev 
eral  bloody  and  doubtful  encounters  on  July  21,  22,  and  23, 
at  the  request  of  the  Governors,  President  Hayes  despatched 
United  States  troops  to  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  West 
Virginia.  Faced  by  these  forces  the  rioters  in  every  instance 
gave  way  without  bloodshed. 

Scranton's  mayor  narrowly  escaped  death,  but  was  res- 


AGRARIAN  AND  LABOR  MOVEMENTS.       249 

cued  by  a  posse  of  special  police,  who  killed  three  of  the 
mob  ringleaders.  In  disturbances  at  Chicago  nineteen  were 
killed,  at  Baltimore  nine.  At  Reading,  endeavoring  to  re 
capture  a  railroad  train  held  by  the  mob  in  a  cut  near  the 
city,  the  soldiers  were  assailed  with  bricks  and  stones  hurled 
from  above,  and  finally  with  pistol  shots.  One  militiaman 
retorted,  scattering  shots  followed,  and  then  a  sustained 
volley.  Only  50  of  the  253  soldiers  escaped  unhurt,  but 
none  was  seriously  injured.  Of  the  crowd  11  were  killed 
and  over  50  wounded,  two  of  the  killed  and  some  of  the 
wounded  being  mere  onlookers. 

The  torch  was  applied  freely  and  with  dreadful  effect. 
Machine-shops,  warehouses,  and  two  thousand  freight-cars 
were  pillaged  or  burned.  Firemen  in  Pittsburg  were  at 
first  threatened  with  death  if  they  tried  to  stop  the  flames, 
and  the  hose  were  cut ;  but,  finally,  permission  was  given  to 
save  private  property.  In  that  city  attacks  did  not  cease  till 
the  corporation  property  had  been  wellnigh  destroyed.  One 
thousand  six  hundred  cars  and  126  locomotives  were  burned 
or  ruined  in  twenty-four  hours.  Allegheny  County  alone 
became  liable  for  about  $3,000,000.  Men,  women,  and  chil 
dren  fell  to  thieving,  carrying  off  all  sorts  of  goods — kid  ball- 
shoes,  parasols,  coffee-mills,  whips,  and  gas-stoves.  In  one 
house  the  police  found  seven  great  trunks  full  of  clothes, 
in  another  eleven  barrels  of  flour.  It  is  said  that  a  wagon- 
load  of  sewing  machines  was  sold  on  the  street,  the  machines 
bringing  from  ten  cents  to  $1  apiece.  The  loss  of  property 
was  estimated  at  $10,000,000. 

One  hundred  thousand  laborers  are  believed  to  have  taken 
part  in  the  entire  movement,  and  at  one  time  or  another 
6,000  or  7,000  miles  of  road  were  in  their  power.  The  agi 
tation  began  on  July  14th,  and  was  serious  till  the  27th, 
but  had  mostly  died  away  by  the  end  of  the  month,  the 
laborers  nearly  all  returning  to  their  work. 

Hosts  of  Pennsylvania  miners  went  out  along  with  the 
railroad  men.  The  railway  strike  itself  was  largely  sympa 
thetic,  the  ten  per  cent  reduction  in  wages  assigned  as  its 


250  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

cause  applying  to  comparatively  few.  The  next  years  wit 
nessed  continual  troubles  of  this  sort,  though  rarely,  if  in 
any  case,  so  serious,  between  wage-workers  and  their  em 
ployers  in  nearly  all  industries.  The  worst  ones  befell  the 
manufacturing  portions  of  the  country,  where  strikes  and 
lockouts  were  part  of  the  news  almost  every  day. 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  251 


CHAPTER   XII. 

ANYTHING  TO   BEAT   GRANT. 

Presidential  Possibilities  in  1880 — Grant  the  Lion — Republican  Con 
vention — A  Political  Battle  of  the  Wilderness — Garfield  the  Dark 
!!orse  —  Grant's  Old  Guard  Defeated  but  Defiant  —  Democrats 
Nominate  Hancock — "The  Ins  and  the  Outs" — Party  Declara 
tions — The  Morey  Forgery — Blaine  Can't  Save  Maine — Conkling's 
Strike  Off — Garfield  Elected — "Soap"  vs.  Intimidation  and  Fraud 
— From  Mule  Boy  to  President — Hancock's  Brilliant  Career — 
The  First  Presidential  Appointments — Conkling's  Frenzy  and  His 
Fall — The  Cabinet — Garfield  Assassinated — Guiteau  Tried  and 
Hanged — Star  Route  Frauds — Pendleton  Civil  Service  Act. 

MR.  HAYES'S  very  honorable  Administration  neared  its 
end  and  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1880  approached. 
Spite  of  the  wide  unpopularity  of  resumption,  spite  of  the 
hard  times  and  labor  troubles,  the  party  in  power  was  now 
in  far  better  condition  to  win  than  it  had  been  in  1876.  The 
Republicans  therefore  had  no  dearth  of  potential  standard- 
bearers.  Returning  from  a  remarkable  tour  around  the 
world,  General  Grant  became,  in  1880,  a  candidate  for  a 
third-term  nomination.  There  is  reason  to  think  that  Grant 
himself  did  not  greatly  desire  this  but  was  pushed  forward 
by  Senator  Roscoe  Conkling,  of  New  York,  to  ensure  the 
defeat  of  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  whom  Conkling  not 
merely  disliked  but  hated.  Conkling  was  now  in  effect 
Republican  dictator  in  his  State.  Its  delegation  to  the  Con 
vention  was  hence  expected  to  be  a  unit  for  Grant,  in  which 
case  it  would  form  a  good  nucleus  for  the  third-term  forces. 
Don  Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  General  John  A.  Logan, 
of  Illinois,  like  Conkling,  strongly  favored  Grant,  securing 
for  him,  not  without  some  contest,  the  delegations  from  their 
respective  States  and  at  the  same  time  securing  control  of 
the  National  Committee,  which  dictated  the  time  and  place 


252  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  holding  the  Convention.  Mr.  Elaine  had  great  strength 
in  the  West  and  considerable  elsewhere.  Senator  Edmunds 
was  the  cynosure  of  a  knot  of  Independents,  mostly  Eastern 
men.  Sherman's  masterly  handling  of  the  Treasury  brought 
him  also  into  prominence,  almost  into  popularity,  as  a  candi 
date.  He  was  able,  practically,  to  name  the  four  Ohio 
delegates-at-large,  Warner  M.  Bateman,  William  Dennison, 
Charles  Foster,  and  James  A.  Garfield.  The  last-named 
had  expressed  his  wish  to  be  a  delegate-at-large,  in  order  that 
he  might  more  effectively  aid  the  Sherman  cause. 

General  Grant  was  now  more  than  ever  a  hero.  He 
had  recently  visited  every  prominent  court  and  country  on 
the  globe.  The  Emperors  of  Germany  and  Austria,  the 
Czar,  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  the  Sultan,  the  Pope, 
the  Kings  of  Belgium,  Italy,  Holland,  Sweden,  and  Spain, 
the  Khedive  of  Egypt,  the  Emperor  of  Siam,  the  Mikado  of 
Japan,  the  Viceroy  of  India,  and  with  them  a  host  of  the 
world's  most  distinguished  statesmen,  soldiers,  and  literary 
men,  had  vied  with  one  another  in  rendering  the  ex-Presi 
dent's  progress  from  land  to  land  a  continuous  ovation.  No 
human  being  in  all  history  had  ever  received  such  honors. 
The  ex-President's  self-possession  amid  all  this  pomp,  his 
good  sense  and  sturdy  maintenance  of  simple,  democratic 
manners,  impressed  every  one.  Some  who  had  opposed  him 
in  1876  now  wished  him  elected,  on  the  ground  that  four  so 
honorable  years  in  private  station  justified  renewed  promo 
tion,  while  not  transgressing  the  unwritten  law  against  a  third 
term. 

So  formidable  did  Conkling's  movement  for  Grant  be 
come  that  the  opponents  of  the  two  rallied  to  the  war-cry, 
"  Any  thing  to  beat  Grant."  About  this  time  the  supersti 
tious  were  stirred  by  Mother  Shipton's  prophecy, 

"The  world  to  an  end  will  come 
In  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-one." 

An  anecdote  was  told  of  a  preacher  who  dwelt  upon  the 
impending  cataclysm,  urging  his  hearers  by  all  means  to  be 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  253 

prepared.  While  he  was  describing  the  peril  an  earnest 
voice  from  the  congregation  ejaculated,  "Thank  God !"  The 
minister  sought  out  the  possessor  of  the  voice  and  asked  why 
he  was  thankful  for  a  prospect  at  which  most  men  shud 
dered.  "Anything  to  beat  Grant/'  was  the  answer.  A  de 
termined  sentiment  hostile  to  the  ex-President's  candidacy 
found  expression  in  the  resolutions  of  the  Republican  Anti- 
third-term  Convention  held  in  St.  Louis  on  May  6th.  These 
resolutions  declared  against  the  Grant  movement  as  likely  to 
revive  the  memory  of  old  scandals,  and  certain,  if  success 
ful,  to  introduce  personal  government  and  to  hinder  civil 
service  reform. 

After  the  revelations  described  in  Chapter  IX  the  move 
ment  to  elect  Grant  President  for  a  third  term  was  sure 
to  awaken  bitter  opposition  in  his  own  party.  The  story  of 
his  second  term,  which  might  have  been  left  for  posterity  to 
extract  from  the  records  as  best  it  could,  was  vividly  recalled 
to  memories  which  had  never  fully  lost  it,  being  rehearsed 
in  a  thousand  newspapers,  now  piecemeal,  now  in  whole  chap 
ters,  till  all  intelligent  people  were  perfectly  familiar  with  it. 

The  Republican  Convention  met  at  Chicago  on  June  2d. 
Conkling,  who  had  charge  of  the  Grant  canvass,  sanguine  of 
carrying  the  Convention  but  fearing  a  "bolt"  afterward,  in 
troduced  the  following  disciplinary  resolution,  which  was 
passed  by  a  vote  of  719  to  3 : 

"Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  this  Convention,  that  every 
member  of  it  is  bound  in  honor  to  support  its  nominee,  who 
ever  that  nominee  may  be,  and  that  no  man  should  hold  his 
seat  here  who  is  not  ready  to  so  agree." 

An  effort  was  made  to  expel  the  three  recalcitrants,  but 
it  proved  abortive.  The  rule  requiring  State  delegations 
each  to  vote  as  a  unit,  which  had  been  assailed  at  the  Cin 
cinnati  Convention  of  1876,  was  now  definitely  abandoned. 
This  gift  of  a  voice  to  minorities  in  State  delegations  lopped 
off  ninety  votes  from  Grant's  constituency,  which  was  a  great 
victory  for  his  opponents.  It  was  in  effect  another  blow 
against  the  Grant  cause  when  Mr.  Flanagan,  of  Texas,  tit- 


254  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tered  the  memorable  query:  "What  are  we  here  for  if  it 
isn't  for  the  offices?" 

The  State  of  New  York  had  seventy  votes  in  the  Con 
vention.  Knowing  that  they  would  all  be  needed  if  Grant 
were  to  win,  Conkling  had  gotten  the  New  York  Convention 
to  instruct  the  delegation  to  vote  as  a  unit  for  the  nominee 
desired  by  the  majority.  But  nineteen  of  them,  led  by 
Conkling7  s  opponent  in  New  York  Republican  politics,  Wil 
liam  H.  Robertson,  refused  to  obey  this  mandate  and  voted 
for  Elaine.  Nine  of  the  Ohio  delegation  bolted  from  Sher 
man  to  Elaine,  a  move  which  solidified  the  rest  of  the  Ohio 
delegation  against  Elaine,  and  thus  "undoubtedly/'  says 
Sherman,  "led  to  his  defeat."  The  first  ballot  showed 
Grant  in  the  lead,  with  Elaine  a  close  second,  and  they 
maintained  this  relative  position  through  thirty-five  con 
secutive  ballots.  The  thirty-fourth  ballot  called  attention 
to  James  A.  Garfield,  who  received  seventeen  votes,  fifteen 
more  than  any  preceding  ballot  had  given  him.  As  a  feeler 
Wisconsin,  near  the  foot  of  the  list,  bolted  to  him.  Gal 
leries  and  Convention  went  wild.  Garfield  had  been  some 
what  prominent  in  the  Convention,  having  charge  of  Sher 
man's  cause  and  being,  in  some  sense,  the  leader  of  all  the 
forces  opposed  to  Grant,  but  scarcely  any  one  had  dreamed 
of  his  being  nominated.  It  having  become  plain  that  the 
New  York  split  must  defeat  Elaine  and  Grant  alike,  the 
bulk  of  the  Elaine  and  Sherman  delegates,  under  instruc 
tions  from  their  chiefs  at  Washington,  went  over  to  Gar- 
field.  Conkling  was  confident  till  Maine  cast  her  vote  for 
Garfield,  when  he  sent  the  word  around  for  delay.  In  vain. 
Too  late.  Conkling's  old  guard  of  306  delegates,  remaining 
steadfast  to  the  last,  rendered  him  too  confident,  and  he 
was  outgeneraled.  That  very  morning  some  one  asked  Gar- 
field  :  "Well,  General,  Vho  is  going  to  win  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness?"  "The  same  little  man  that  won  the  first  will 
win  it,"  he  replied,  deliberately,  "and  I  am  afraid  it  will 
mean  the  destruction  of  the  Republican  party."  The  stam 
pede  gave  Garfield  399  votes,  twenty-one  more  than  were 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  255 

needed  to  make  him  the  choice  of  the  Convention.  While 
the  State  banners  were  seized  and  waved  in  a  circle  above 
his  head,  while  all  was  enthusiasm  and  hubbub,  Garfield  him 
self  sat,  as  if  in  a  stupor,  dazed  and  benumbed.  The  second 
place  on  the  ticket  being  conceded  to  a  Grant  man,  Conk- 
ling,  as  a  stab  at  President  Hayes,  named  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent  Chester  A.  (Arthur,  the  same  whom  Hayes  had  de 
posed  from  office.  "Garfield  and  Arthur"  was  therefore 
the  ticket. 

The  country  hailed  the  Presidential  nomination  with  ex 
treme  satisfaction.  Elaine,  in  spite  of  his  defeat,  hastened 
to  send  Garfield  his  congratulations.  So  did  Sherman,  who 
blamed  Governor  Foster,  and  not  the  nominee,  for  perfidy. 
But  Conkling  sulked,  cursing  the  nineteen  rebellious  ISTew 
York  delegates,  and  vowing  eternal  vengeance  upon  Rob 
ertson  in  particular.  Grant's  phalanx,  which  had  stood  solid 
for  him  from  the  first,  alone  failed  to  partake  of  the  general 
enthusiasm. 

The  Democratic  Convention  assembled  at  Cincinnati  on 
June  22d.  Mr.  Tilden  could,  no  doubt,  have  had  the  nom 
ination  had  he  signified  his  willingness  to  accept  it,  but  his 
friends  were  wholly  ignorant  of  his  wishes  until  just  as  the 
Convention  met,  when  he  wrote  declining  renomination.  On 
the  third  ballot  the  delegates  nominated  the  hero  of  Gettys 
burg,  the -brave  and  renowned  General  Winfield  S.  Hancock, 
of  Pennsylvania. 

The  two  parties  were  at  this  time  best  classed  as  "the 
ins"  and  "the  outs."  Though  not  exactly  one  upon  the 
fading  issue  of  intervention  at  the  South,  or  upon  that  of 
"incidental  protection"  versus  a  "tariff  for  revenue  only," 
neither  these  issues  nor  any  others  were  kept  steadily  in 
sight  during  the  campaign.  The  Republicans  had  not  yet 
wearied  of  reminiscences,  while  the  Democrats  nursed  their 
party  fealty  by  calling  Hayes  "the  fraud  President."  On 
the  people  at  large  the  ceaseless  repetition  of  this  phrase 
had  not  the  slightest  effect,  particularly  after  the  publication 
of  the  "cipher  despatches,"  which  involved  certain  Demo- 


256  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

cratic  leaders  in  attempts,  pending  the  Hayes-Tilden  contro 
versy,  to  bribe  electors  representing  doubtful  States. 

The  Republicans'  platform  charged  Democrats  with  "a 
supreme  and  insatiable  lust  of  office,"  yet  their  own  devoir 
to  civil  service  reform  they  paid  only  as  an  afterthought, 
amid  the  jeers  of  delegates.  To  detach  the  Republican  re 
form  vote,  the  Democratic  platform  made  three  distinct 
allusions  to  that  subject,  indorsing  a  general  and  thorough 
reform,  "execrating"  the  course  of  the  Administration  in 
using  offices  to  reward  political  crime,  and  promising  "a 
genuine  and  lasting  improvement  in  case  of  a  change."  The 
Republicans  suspected  the  other  party  of  coquetting  with  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  urged  an  amendment  forbid 
ding  State  appropriations  for  sectarian  schools;  but  both 
parties  applauded  public  education  and  separation  between 
Church  and  State.  They  were  at  one  also  in  decided  oppo 
sition  to  Chinese  immigration.  The  pensioner  was  becoming 
conspicuous.  Republicans  boasted  of  paying  annually  more 
than  thirty  millions  of  dollars  in  pensions,  and  promised  the 
old  soldiers — sincerely,  as  events  showed — undiminished 
gratitude  in  future.  They  further  declared  against  polyg 
amy.  The  Democrats  avowed  themselves  in  favor  of  "free 
ships  and  a  chance  for  American  commerce  on  the  seas  and 
on  the  land;"  also  for  gold,  silver,  and  convertible  paper 
money. 

Though  living  issues  were  little  discussed  in  the  cam 
paign,  it  was  not  wanting  in  warmth  or  movement.  Repub 
licans  were  incessantly  "waving  the  bloody  shirt,"  a  Demo 
cratic  phrase  which  became  familiar  at  this  time.  The 
Democrats,  as  we  have  said,  harped  upon  the  "fraud"  that 
they  ascribed  to  the  Electoral  Commission  which  "counted 
out"  Mr.  Tilden.  Incidentally,  as  election  day  grew  near, 
protection  to  home  industry  and  restriction  of  Chinese  immi 
gration  were  more  or  less  discussed,  with,  perhaps,  consider 
able  local  effect,  but  the  election  was  in  no  sense  decided  by 
either.  Seizing  upon  a  luckless  utterance  of  General  Han 
cock's,  to  the  effect  that  the  tariff  was  "a  local  issue,"  the  Re- 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  257 

publicans  took  occasion  to  ridicule  his  ignorance  of  economic 
and  political  affairs.  Garfield  was  accused  of  disreputable 
connection  with  the  Credit  Mobilier,  and  with  the  Washing 
ton  Ring  back  in  the  seventies,  but  nothing  worse  than  in 
discretion  was  proved  against  him.  Shortly  before  election 
day  Democratic  politicians  sowed  broadcast  facsimiles  of  a 
letter  signed  with  Garfield's  name,  and  representing  him  as 
so  lovingly  attached  to  "our  great  manufacturing  and  cor 
porate  interests"  as  to  favor  Chinese  immigration  until  la 
borers  should  be  sufficiently  abundant  to  satisfy  capital.  This 
letter  was  proved  to  be  a  forgery,  and  one  of  the  authors  of 
it  was  sentenced  to  prison  for  eight  years. 

In  1878  Maine  had  surprised  every  one  by  electing  a 
Democratic  Governor,  through  a  fusion  of  Democrats  with 
Greenbackers.  After  the  next  annual  election,  acting  as  a 
Canvassing  Board,  professedly  under  the  law,  this  Governor, 
Garcelon,  and  his  counsel  declared  a  Democratic  Legislature 
to  be  elected — a  proceeding  denounced  as  a  "counting  in" 
worthy  of  the  most  approved  Louisiana  model.  This  course 
contravened  the  judgment  of  the  State  Supreme  Court.  It 
was  not  upheld  by  public  opinion  either  in  the  State  or 
elsewhere,  not  even  by  Democratic  opinion,  unless  as  a 
species  of  "poetic  justice."  Most  fatal  of  all,  the  new  Legis 
lature  was  unsupported  by  the  State  militia,  upon  which,  as 
no  Federal  troops  were  at  command,  devolved,  during  the 
interregnum,  the  charge  of  keeping  order.  The  fusionists, 
therefore,  gave  up  in  discouragement.  But  in  the  State 
election  of  the  Presidential  year,  in  September,  renewed 
success  came  to  them.  Their  candidate,  Harris  M.  Plaisted, 
was  elected  Governor,  spite  of  the  Republicans'  activity  under 
the  personal  lead  of  Mr.  Blaine. 

Until  this  reverse  in  Maine  most  supporters  of  Grant 
had  sulked,  but  they  did  so  no  longer.  The  "strike"  was 
now  declared  "off,"  and  all  the  available  resources  of  the 
party  called  into  requisition  for  the  election  of  Garfield. 
Persuaded  by  Grant,  Conkling  himself  took  the  stump,  work 
ing  for  the  nominees  with  all  his  might.  Popular  audiences 


258  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

found  his  eloquence  irresistible.  "No  man  did  more  than  he 
to  carry  the  important  State  of  New  York.  He  took  Grant 
with  him  throughout  the  State,  exhibiting  him  for  five- 
minute  speeches,  while  he  himself  made  long  orations.  This 
occasioned  much  comment,  but  probably  "did  good."  Conk- 
ling  and  his  supporters  deemed  his  agency  decisive  of  the 
result  in  the  nation  as  well  as  in  New  York,  and  considered 
President  Garfield  as  under  the  deepest  obligation  on  this 
account.  Hancock  swept  every  Southern  State.  Garfield 
carried  every  Northern  one  except  New  Jersey,  Nevada,  and 
California.  For  the  first  time  in  our  history  the  Presidential 
electors  were  all  chosen  by  popular  vote,  and  for  the  first 
time  their  votes  were  counted  as  cast. 

Thus  the  victory  was  won  for  Garfield  and  Arthur.  It 
was  not  obtained,  however,  without  employing,  to  some  ex 
tent,  illegitimate  means.  At  a  dinner  in  honor  of  Hon.  S. 
W.  Dorsey,  Vice-President  Arthur,  in  a  vein  of  pleasantry, 
remarked  that  the  Republicans  had  been  victorious  in  Indi 
ana  by  a  liberal  use  of  "soap."  After  the  election  discredita 
ble  exposures  were  made  respecting  contributions  by  Govern 
ment  civil  servants  to  the  Republican  campaign  fund. 

But  if  machine  politics  had  much  to  do  with  Garfield's 
election,  machine  politics  no  more  determined  it  than  intimi 
dation  and  fraud  solidified  the  South  for  Hancock.  Garfield 
had  a  highly  honorable  record — literary,  military,  and  civil. 
From  a  mule-boy  on  the  tow-path  of  the  Ohio  Canal  between 
Cleveland  and  Marietta — which  rough  life,  it  seems,  bade 
fair  for  a  time  injuriously  to  affect  his  character — he  had 
risen  to  a  college  presidency  and  to  the  Senate  of  Ohio,  all 
before  the  war.  Entering  the  service  early,  he  rose  rapidly 
in  rank  —  as  he  deserved,  for  no  civilian  commander  had 
proved  a  better  soldier.  His  martial  quality  came  out  at 
Middle  Creek,  Shiloh,  and  pre-eminently  at  Chickamauga, 
where  his  gallant  and  meritorious  services  made  him  a  major- 
general.  At  Chickamauga,  when  the  right  wing  of  Rose- 
crans's  army  was  in  full  retreat,  leaving  to  its  fate  the  left, 
under  General  Thomas,  Garfield,  through  a  fiery  storm  of 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  259 

shot,  fatal  to  most  of  his  escort,  had  ridden  back  to  acquaint 
Thomas  with  the  state  of  affairs,  encourage  him,  and  arrange 
for  the  safe  re-formation  of  the  Union  forces  on  a  new  line. 
Entering  Congress  in  December,  1863,  he  at  once  became 
a  leader,  serving  with  distinction  on  the  most  important  com 
mittees,  a  power  in  debate  and  on  the  stump,  eloquent,  sensi 
ble,  patriotic — not,  indeed,  an  adroit  politician,  but  no  little 
of  a  statesman.  While  in  Congress  he  probably  had  a  more 
thorough  acquaintance  with  important  public  questions  than 
any  other  man  in  official  life.  His  firm  and  decisive  stand 
for  honest  money,  when  a  formidable  faction  in  his  party  was 
for  fiat  greenbacks,  has  already  been  alluded  to  in  this  His 
tory.  That  his  State  made  him  its  Senator,  and  his  country 
made  him  its  President,  were  in  nowise  mere  accidents. 

Hancock's  record,  too,  was  altogether  spotless  and  proud. 
rA  West  Point  graduate  and  a  patriot  to  the  backbone,  bre- 
vetted  for  gallantry  at  Contreras  and  Churubusco,  at  the  front 
whenever  he  could  possibly  get  there  in  any  serious  engage 
ment  of  our  army  in  Virginia  during  the  entire  Civil  War, 
always  a  fighter,  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  the  cause  of  Union 
victory  at  Gettysburg,  if  any  one  man  could  be  so  called, 
Hancock  at  the  time  of  his  nomination  came  before  the  public 
as  perhaps  the  most  consummate  specimen  of  a  mere  military 
man  in  the  whole  history  of  the  country.  Grant  said  Han 
cock's  name  "was  never  mentioned  as  having  committed  in 
battle  a  blunder  for  which  he  was  held  responsible."  Nor 
can  any  well  doubt  that  Hancock  would  have  made  a  success 
ful  President.  Few,  in  fact,  questioned  this.  It  was  his 
party  that  was  distrusted.  Had  the  Democracy  held  the 
place  in  public  esteem  which  was  accorded  to  the  candidate, 
Hancock  would  almost  certainly  have  been  elected.  As  it 
was,  Gar  field's*  popular  majority  was  trifling,  though  in  the 
Electoral  College  he  had  214  votes  to  Hancock's  155. 

If  it  was  Garfield's  wish,  as  he  again  and  again  declared, 
to  treat  all  stripes  of  the  party  alike,  it  is  hard  to  understand 
what  led  him  to  select  Elaine  as  Secretary  of  State  in  his 
Cabinet.  The  mere  rumor  of  this  purpose  roused  Conkling's 


260  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

utmost  ire.  Elaine  and  Conkling  had  long  been  openly  and 
bitterly  at  feud.  Their  quarrel,  beginning  in  empty  trifles, 
had  grown  by  incessant  fanning  until  it  menaced  the  party 
with  fatal  schism.  Tried  and  wise  friends  of  both  besought 
Elaine  not  to  accept  the  offered  portfolio.  Senator  Dawes 
was  one  of  these.  He  says:  "I  warned  Mr.  Elaine  that  if 
he  entered  the  Cabinet  with  the  intent  or  hope  of  circumvent 
ing  his  rival,  it  would  be  fatal  to  him  and  to  the  administra 
tion  of  Garfield,  and  I  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  him  to  keep  the  peace  if  he  took  the  office. 
He  replied  with  frankness,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  with  entire 
sincerity,  that  it  would  be  his  purpose,  if  he  accepted  the 
office,  to  ignore  all  past  differences,  and  so  deport  himself  in 
it  as  to  force  reconciliation.  He  said  also  that  he  could  not 
agree  with  me,  even  if  the  effect  should  prove  otherwise,  that 
he  should  for  that  reason  be  debarred  from  the  great  oppor 
tunity,  for  which  he  felt  himself  qualified,  to  administer  the 
Foreign  Office  on  the  broad  and  grand  scale  he  did  afterward 
undertake,  but  was  not  permitted  to  perfect.  I  foresaw  the 
rocks  all  too  plainly,  and  advised  him  to  remain  in  the  Sen 
ate.  But  he  determined  otherwise  and  accepted  the  posi 
tion.7' 

Garfield  and  Elaine  probably  thought  that  Conkling's 
influence  against  them  might  be  safely  ignored  (in  which 
they  proved  not  wholly  right),  considering  him  a  very  shal 
low  man  (wherein  they  were  not  wholly  wrong).  It  is  among 
William  Winter's  reminiscences  that  Conkling  and  George 
William  Curtis  once  compared  judgments  touching  poetry 
and  oratory,  each  citing  passages  that  seemed  to  him  ideal. 
Conkling  named  Mrs.  Hemans's  "Casabianca,"  "The  boy 
stood  on  the  burning  deck,"  etc.,  as  his  model  poem,  and  some 
fine  sentences  from  Charles  Sprague  as  what  suited  him  best 
in  eloquence.  It  was  Sprague,  we  recall,  whose  Fourth  of 
July  oration  at  Boston,  in  1825,  contained  the  smart  period 
beginning:  "Not  many  generations  ago,  where  you  now  sit, 
circled  by  all  that  adorns  and  embellishes  civilized  life,  the 
rank  thistle  nodded  in  the  wind  and  the  wild  fox  dug  his  hole 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  261 

unscared."  Curtis,  for  eloquence,  presented  the  following 
from  Emerson's  Dartmouth  College  oration,  delivered  on 
July  24,  1838 :  "You  will  hear  every  day  the  maxims  of  a 
low  prudence.  You  will  hear  that  the  first  duty  is  to  get 
land  and  money,  place  and  name.  'What  is  this  Truth  you 
seek?  What  is  this  Beauty?'  men  will  ask,  with  derision. 
If,  nevertheless,  God  have  called  any  of  you  to  explore  Truth 
and  Beauty,  be  bold,  be  firm,  be  true.  When  you  shall  say, 
'As  others  do,  so  will  I.  I  renounce,  I  am  sorry  for  it,  my 
early  visions ;  I  must  eat  the  good  of  the  land,  and  let  learn 
ing  and  romantic  expectations  go  until  a  more  convenient 
season;'  then  dies  the  man  in  you;  then  once  more  perish  the 
buds  of  Art  and  Poetry  and  Science,  as  they  have  died  al 
ready  in  a  thousand  thousand  men." 

This  Conkling  thought  rather  tame. 

Conkling  looked  upon  Blaine's  promotion  as  nothing  but 
a  deliberate  attempt  to  humiliate  himself,  and  his  friends 
concurred  in  this  view.  "Garfield,  of  whose  great  brain 
power  political  sagacity  formed  no  part,  could  not  be  made 
to  see  in  the  opposition  anything  but  an  attempt  by  dictation 
to  trench  upon  his  Constitutional  prerogatives  in  the  choice 
of  his  own  councilors,  and  all  Blaine  men  agreed  with 
him." 

Bad  was  made  worse  when  Garfield  offered  the  post  of 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  Charles  J.  Folger,  of  New 
York,  not  only  without  consulting  Conkling,  but  against 
Conkling's  warm  recommendation  of  Mr.  Morton.  That  Mr. 
Folger  declined  the  portfolio  did  not  pacify  Conkling.  No 
man  in  the  Cabinet  represented  Conkling,  whereas  he  and  his 
friends  thought  that  on  account  of  his  great  service  in  the 
campaign,  all  New  York  appointments,  at  least,  should  be 
filled  by  him  from  among  his  friends.  Garfield,  undoubt 
edly  influenced  by  Blaine,  would  not  consent  to  this.  He 
was  willing  to  do  what  he  reasonably  could  to  pacrfy  Conk 
ling,  but  he  refused  to  renounce  his  Constitutional  privilege 
of  personally  selecting  the  men  who  were  to  aid  him  in  dis 
charging  his  arduous  duties. 


262  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Shortly  before  the  inauguration,  in  the  spring  of  1881, 
Senator  Platt,  who  was  politically  and  sympathetically  in 
accord  with  his  colleague,  received  the  information  that  Mr. 
James  had  been  selected  for  the  position  of  Postmaster-Gen 
eral.  Up  to  this  time  the  two  New  York  Senators  had  re 
ceived  assurances  from  the  President-elect  that  the  Empire 
State  was  to  be  favored  with  the  portfolio  of  the  Treasury 
Department,  which  was  regarded  as  a  more  dignified  and 
more  influential  position  in  every  respect.  As  soon  as  Mr. 
Platt  heard  of  the  President's  change  of  mind,  he  repaired 
at  once  to  Chamberlain's,  where  he  found  Vice-President 
Arthur  and  Senator  Conkling  at  breakfast.  He  broke  the 
news  to  them.  Arthur  and  Conkling  at  once  left  the  table, 
and  all  three  repaired  to  the  Riggs  House,  where  Garfield 
had  rooms.  They  received  an  audience  without  delay,  and 
for  over  an  hour  Conkling  stormed  up  and  down  the  room, 
charging  Garfield  with  treachery  to  his  friends  in  New  York, 
and  asserting  that  he  was  false  to  his  party.  Garfield,  sit 
ting  on  the  side  of  the  bed,  listened  in  silence  to  the  tirade, 
violent  and  unseemly  as  all  thought  it.  Both  General  Arthur 
and  Senator  Platt  subsequently  declared  that  for  invective, 
sarcasm,  and  impassioned  eloquence,  this  was  the  speech 
of  Conkling's  life. 

On  March  23,  1881,  Conkling's  dearest  foe,  Mr.  Robert 
son,  was  nominated  by  the  President  as  Collector  of  Customs 
at  the  Port  of  New  York,  the  then  incumbent,  E.  A.  Mer- 
ritt,  being  nominated  for  the  post  of  Consul-General  at  Lon 
don.  Both  appointments  were  opposed  by  Conkling  and  his 
colleague,  Mr.  Platt,  but  in  spite  of  this  they  were  subse 
quently  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  Conkling's  ire  grew  into 
a  frenzy.  Sober  Republicans  were  aghast  at  the  chasm  wid 
ening  in  the  party.  A  committee  of  conciliation,  consisting 
of  five  gentlemen  representing  different  attitudes  to  the  liti 
gants,  was  appointed  to  try  and  harmonize  them.  Conkling 
met  these  gentlemen  to  recount  his  wrongs.  Said  Mr.  Dawes, 
who  was  chairman  of  the  committee:  "On  that  occasion  he 
surpassed  himself  in  all  those  elements  of  oratorical  power 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  263 

for  which  he  was  so  distinguished.  .  .  .  He  continued  for 
two  hours  and  a  half  to  play  with  consummate  skill  upon  all 
the  strings  known  to  the  orator,  and  through  all  the  notes, 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  which  the  great  masters  com 
mand,  and  concluded  in  a  lofty  apostrophe  to  the  greatness 
and  glory  of  the  Republican  party  and  his  own  devotion  to 
its  highest  welfare.  'And/  said  he,  'I  trust  that  the  exigency 
may  never  arise  when  I  shall  be  compelled  to  choose  between 
self-respect  and  personal  honor  on  the  one  side  and  the  tempo 
rary  discomfiture  of  that  party  on  the  other ;  but  if  that  time 
shall  ever  come  I  shall  not  hesitate  in  the  choice,  and  I  now 
say  to  you,  and  through  you  to  those  whom  it  most  concerns, 
that  I  have  in  my  pocket  an  autograph  letter  of  this  Presi 
dent,  who  is  now  for  the  time  being  its  official  head,  which 
I  pray  God  I  may  never  be  compelled  in  self-defence  to  make 
public;  but  if  that  time  shall  ever  come,  I  declare  to  you, 
his  friends,  he  will  bite  the  dust/  ? 

This  letter  proved  to  be  one  like  the  "My  dear  Hubbell" 
epistle  mentioned  below.  It  had  been  written  in  the  course 
of  the  campaign  to  press  collections  from  Government  officials 
and  clerks  for  campaign  expenses.  President  Garfield  had 
retained  a  copy.  His  friends  urged  him  to  publish  it  forth 
with,  thus  anticipating  Conkling;  and  he,  at  first,  consented, 
but  Mr.  Elaine  dissuaded  him.  True  to  his  threat,  Conkling 
gave  it  out,  but  too  late,  so  that  it  fell  flat.  The  conciliation 
committee  waited  on  the  President  to  see  if  there  was  not 
some  way  by  which  he  could  consistently  accord  Conkling 
fuller  recognition.  Nothing  came  of  the  effort,  as  Conkling 
would  be  satisfied  only  by  the  President's  utter  neglect  and 
humiliation  of  the  Robertson  faction  in  New  York.  Conk 
ling  was  labored  with  again  and  begged  to  be  magnanimous, 
but  he  would  not  yield  a  hair.  Instead  of  placing  the  good 
of  the  party  before  his  personal  spite,  he  proposed  to  rule  or 
ruin.  "Should  I  do  as  I  am  urged,"  he  said,  "I  should  my 
self  go  under,  and  should  be  burned  in  effigy  from  Buffalo 
to  Montauk  Point,  and  could  not  be  elected  a  delegate  to  a 
county  convention  in  Oneida  County."  It  is  said  that  he  did 


264  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

actually  seek,  later,  an  election  to  a  convention  in  that  county, 
but  without  success. 

Republicans  after  the  heart  of  Conkling  and  Arthur,  con 
stituting  "the  Prince  of  Wales's  Party,"  now  called  them 
selves  "Stalwarts,"  a  term  invented  by  Mr.  Blaine,  at  the 
same  time  styling  Administration  Republicans  "Half -breeds." 
Those  declining  to  take  sides  either  way  they  dubbed  "Jelly 
fish."  On  May  16th,  before  Robertson's  confirmation,  the 
two  New  York  Senators,  Conkling  and  Platt,  resigned  their 
places,  expecting  the  honor  and  indorsement  of  an  immediate 
re-election.  In  this  they  were  disappointed.  They  were  de 
feated  in  the  New  York  Legislature  by  E.  C.  Lapham  and 
Warner  Miller,  Administration  or  "Half-breed"  Republicans. 
Mr.  Conkling  never  again  reappeared  in  politics.  Mr.  Platt, 
on  the  contrary,  suffered  only  a  temporary  loss  of  influence. 
Disliked  by  a  large  section — perhaps  a  majority — of  the  New 
York  Republicans,  he  still  did  not  cease  to  be  the  determining 
factor  of  the  fortunes  of  the  party  in  his  State.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  Mr.  Bryce  had  Conkling  and  Platt  in  mind 
when,  in  his  chapter  upon  "Rings  and  Bosses,"  he  wrote: 
"There  have  been  brilliant  instances  of  persons  stepping  at 
once  to  the  higher  rungs  of  the  ladder  in  virtue  of  their  au 
dacity  and  energy,  especially  if  coupled  with  oratorical  pow 
er.  However,  the  position  of  the  rhetorical  boss  is  less  firmly 
rooted  than  that  of  the  intriguing  boss,  and  there  have  been 
instances  of  his  suddenly  falling  to  rise  no  more." 

Mr.  James  was  well  succeeded  in  the  New  York  Post- 
Office  by  Mr.  Pearson,  who  had  been  the  Assistant  Postmas 
ter.  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  Secretary  of  War,  was 
not  well  known,  but  the  illustrious  name  of  his  father  made 
the  selection  a  popular  one.  He  had  supported  Grant  in  the 
convention,  and  his  appointment  was  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  Logan  faction.  Of  Mr.  Kirkwood,  Secretary  of  the  In 
terior,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  he  was  indorsed  by  Carl 
Schurz,  his  predecessor  in  the  department.  Judge  William 
H.  Hunt  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Navy  portfolio.  He 
was  an  Old-Line  Whig,  born  in  South  Carolina,  who  had 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  265 

moved  to  Louisiana.  Throughout  the  war  he  was  a  stanch 
Union  man,  and  afterward  a  consistent  Republican.  He 
had  been  counsel  for  Governor  Kellogg  against  McEnery  in 
the  famous  Durell  case,  and  also  a  candidate  for  the  office  of 
Attorney-General  on  the  Louisiana  State  ticket  with  Pack 
ard.  President  Hayes  made  him  a  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Claims,  a  position  which  he  held  till  he  received  this  pro 
motion  from  Mr.  Garfield. 

Wayne  MacVeagh,  of  Pennsylvania,  Attorney-General 
in  Garfield's  Cabinet,  was  universally  respected  for  his  high 
character  and  ability.  Though  a  son-in-law  of  Simon  Cam 
eron,  he  was  an  Independent,  and  therefore,  politically,  no 
friend  to  either  of  the  Camerons.  William  Windom,  of 
Minnesota,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  East  suspected  of 
monetary  "unsoundness,"  but  this  occasioned  little  anxiety, 
as  Garfield  was  well  known  to  be  perfectly  trustworthy  in  this 
regard.  Windom  was  immensely  popular  in  the  West  be 
cause  of  his  antagonism  to  monopolies,  some  of  which  had 
already  made  themselves  formidable  and  odious.  By  this 
time  telegraph  and  railway  lines  had  become  consolidated 
and  one  or  two  "Trusts"  had  arisen. 

In  the  fall  of  1880  a  Mr.  Hudson,  of  Detroit,  confided 
to  Senator  Sherman  a  fear  that  General  Garfield  would  be 
assassinated,  giving  particulars.  Being  at  once  apprised, 
Mr.  Garfield,  under  date  of  November  16,  1880,  replied: 
"I  do  not  think  there  is  any  serious  danger  in  the  direction 
to  which  he  refers,  though  I  am  receiving  what  I  suppose  to 
be  the  usual  number  of  threatening  letters  on  that  subject. 
Assassination  can  no  more  be  guarded  against  than  death  by 
lightning;  and  it  is  not  best  to  worry  about  either."  Hardly 
had  President  Garfield  entered  upon  his  high  duties  when 
Mr.  Hudson's  fears  were  realized.  This  was  only  six  weeks 
after  the  murder  of  Czar  Alexander  II.  The  President  had 
never  been  in  better  spirits  than  on  the  morning  of  July  2, 
1881.  Before  he  was  up  one  of  his  sons  entered  his  room. 
Almost  the  boy's  first  words  were  "There !" — taking  a  flying 
leap  over  his  bed — "you  are  the  President  of  the  United 

U.   S.     Vol.  8—12 


266  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

States,  but  you  can't  do  that,"  Whereupon  the  Chief  Mag 
istrate  arose  and  did  it.  Later  in  the  morning,  thus  healthy 
and  jovial,  he  entered  the  railway  station  at  Washington, 
intending  to  take  an  Eastern  trip.  Charles  J.  Guiteau,  a 
disappointed  office-seeker,  crept  up  behind  him  and  fired  two 
bullets  at  him,  one  of  which  lodged  in  his  back. 

The  country  already  had  a  deep  affection  for  Mr.  Gar- 
field,  all  except  those  immediately  interested  in  party  poli 
tics,  and  many  of  these  sympathizing  with  him  against  Conk- 
ling  in  the  struggle  that  had  arisen  over  appointments. 
Democrats  honored  him  for  his  course  in  this  business.  The 
terrible  misfortune  now  come  upon  him  ostensibly  in  conse 
quence  of  his  boldness  in  that  matter  wonderfully  endeared 
him  to  the  popular  heart.  He  was  likened  to  Lincoln,  as 
another  "martyr  President,"  In  all  the  churches  through 
out  the  North,  often  as  the  congregations  met  for  worship, 
earnest  prayers  were  offered  for  the  President's  recovery. 
In  every  city  crowds  watched  the  bulletin  boards  daily  from 
morning  till  night  to  learn  from  the  despatches  constantly 
appearing  the  distinguished  sufferer's  condition.  The  bullet 
had  pierced  the  tissues  by  a  long,  angry,  and  crooked  course^ 
leaving  a  wound  that  could  not  be  properly  drained.  Spite 
of  treatment  by  the  most  famous  medical  practitioners — 
whom,  however,  high  authorities  deemed  somewhat  fussy  and 
irresolute  in  handling  the  case — blood-poisoning  set  in,  and 
at  length  proved  fatal.  The  President's  hardy  constitution 
enabled  him  to  fight  for  life  as  few  could  have  done.  He 
languished  on  and  on,  through  weeks  of  dreadful  suffering, 
till  September  19th,  when  he  died. 

On  the  21st  of  December,  the  Houses  of  Congress  passed 
resolutions  for  memorial  services,  to  occur  on  February  27, 
1882,  to  which  were  invited  the  President  and  ex-Presidents, 
the  heads  of  departments,  Supreme  Court  Judges,  Ministers 
of  foreign  countries,  Governors  of  States,  and  distinguished 
officers  of  the  army  and  the  navy.  Upon  that  occasion  Mr. 
Elaine  delivered  an  oration  on  the  life  and  character  of  the 
dead  Chief  Magistrate.  The  closing  periods  ran:  "As  the 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  267 

end  drew  near,  his  early  craving  for  the  sea  returned.  The 
stately  mansion  of  power  had  been  to  him  the  wearisome  hos 
pital  of  pain,  and  he  begged  to  be  taken  from  its  prison  walls, 
from  its  oppressive,  stifling  air,  from  its  homelessness  and  its 
hopelessness.  Gently,  silently,  the  love  of  a  great  people 
bore  the  pale  sufferer  to  the  longed-for  healing  of  the  sea,  to 
live  or  to  die,  as  God  should  will,  within  sight  of  its  heaving 
billows,  within  sound  of  its  manifold  voices.  With  wan, 
fevered  face  tenderly  lifted  to  the  cooling  breeze,  he  looked 
out  wistfully  upon  the  ocean's  changing  wonders ;  on  its  far 
sails,  whitening  in  the  morning  light;  on  its  restless  waves 
rolling  shoreward  to  break  and  die  beneath  the  noonday  sun ; 
the  red  clouds  of  evening,  arching  low  to  the  horizon ;  on  the 
serene  and  shining  pathway  of  the  stars.  Let  us  think  that 
his  dying  eyes  read  a  mystic  meaning  which  only  the  rapt 
and  parting  soul  may  know.  Let  us  believe  that  in  the  si- 
lerice  of  the  receding  world  he  heard  the  great  waves  breaking 
on  a  further  shore,  and  fell  already  upon  his  wasted  brow  the 
breath  of  the  eternal  morning." 

The  sorrow  over  President  Garfield's  death,  said  George 
William  Curtis,  in  another  eulogy,  was  "more  world- wide 
and  pathetic  than  ever  before  lamented  a  human  being.  In 
distant  lands  men  bowed  their  heads.  The  courts  of  kings 
were  clad  in  mourning.  The  parish  bells  of  rural  England 
tolled,  and  every  American  household  was  hushed  with  pain 
as  if  its  first-born  lay  dead." 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  posterity  will  give  Mr.  Gar- 
field  quite  the  high  place  assigned  him  by  contemporary  judg 
ment;  yet  he  was  certainly  among  our  greater  men.  Some 
what  vacillating  and  passive,  and  too  much  dominated  by 
Elaine's  stronger  nature,  Garfield  was  a  man  of  solid  char 
acter,  no  little  personal  magnetism,  and  great  information. 
In  many  respects  he  and  Elaine  were  alike.  In  aptness  for 
personal  intercourse  with  men,  and  in  the  power  of  will,  he 
was  Elaine's  inferior,  while  in  logic,  learning,  and  breadth  of 
view  he  was  in  advance  of  Elaine. 

Guiteau  had  been  by  spells  a  politician,  lawyer,  lecturer, 


268  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

theologian,  and  evangelist.  He  pretended  to  have  been  in 
spired  by  Deity  with  the  thought  that  the  removal  of  Mr. 
Garfield  was  necessary  to  the  unity  of  the  Republican  party 
and  to  the  salvation  of  the  country.  He  is  said  to  have  ex 
claimed,  on  being  arrested:  "All  right,  I  did  it  and  will  go 
to  jail  for  it,  I  am  a  Stalwart,  and  Arthur  will  be  Presi 
dent."  His  trial  began  in  November  and  lasted  over  two 
months.  The  defence  was  insanity.  The  prosecution  showed 
that  the  man  had  long  been  an  unprincipled  adventurer, 
greedy  for  notoriety;  that  he  first  conceived  the  project  of 
killing  the  President  after  his  hopes  of  office  were  finally 
destroyed ;  and  that  he  had  planned  the  murder  several  weeks 
in  advance. 

The  public  rage  against  Guiteau  knew  no  bounds.  Only 
by  the  utmost  vigilance  on  the  part  of  his  keepers  was  his 
life  prolonged  till  the  day  of  his  execution.  Sergeant  Mason, 
a  soldier  set  to  guard  him,  fired  into  Guiteau' s  cell  with  the 
evident  intention  of  applying  to  the  assassin  assassins'  meth 
ods.  The  sergeant  was  tried  by  court-martial,  dismissed 
from  the  army,  deprived  of  his  back  pay,  and  sentenced  to 
eight  years  in  the  Albany  Penitentiary.  Two  months  later, 
as  they  were  taking  the  wretched  Guiteau  from  jail  to  court, 
a  horseman,  dashing  past,  fired  a  pistol  at  him,  the  bullet 
grazing  his  wrist 

The  prisoner's  disorderly  conduct  and  scurrilous  inter 
ruptions  of  the  proceedings  during  his  trial,  apparently  to 
aid  the  plea  of  insanity,  impaired  the  dignity  of  the  occasion 
and  elicited,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  comment  disparaging 
to  the  court.  Judge  Cox  threatened  to  gag  the  prisoner  or 
send  him  out  of  court;  but  as  neither  of  these  courses  could 
be  taken  without  infringing  Guiteau's  right  to  confront  his 
accusers  and  to  speak  in  his  own  behalf,  the  threats  were  of 
no  avail. 

Guiteau  was  found  guilty  in  January,  1882.  As  the 
last  juror  signified  his  assent  to  the  verdict  the  condemned 
man  sprang  to  his  feet  and  shrieked :  "My  blood  will  be  upon 
the  heads  of  that  jury.  Don't  you  forget  it !  God  will  avenge 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  269 

this  outrage !"  He  was  executed  at  Washington  on  June  30, 
1882,  and  his  skeleton  is  now  in  the  Army  Medical  Museum 
in  that  city.  The  autopsy  showed  no  disease  of  the  brain, 

Although  it  had  no  logical  connection  with  the  spoils 
system,  the  assassination  of  President  Garfield  called  the  at 
tention  of  the  country  to  the  crying  need  of  reform  in  the  civil 
service.  Through  March,  April,  May,  and  June,  1881,  Wash 
ington  streets  had  been  blockaded  with  office-seekers  and  polit 
ical  adventurers,  bearing  "testimonials"  of  their  worth,  seek 
ing  indorsers  and  backers  and  awaiting  chances  to  "inter 
view"  the  President  himself.  Contributors  to  the  election 
fund  were  especially  forward  in  demanding  positions.  The 
President's  time  and  strength  were  wasted  in  weighing  the 
deserts  of  this  or  that  politician  or  faction  of  a  State  to  con 
trol  patronage  there.  All  who  had  known  him  in  the  army, 
in  Congress  or  at  home  now  made  the  most  of  such  acquaint 
ance. 

We  have  seen  that  Hayes's  Administration  marked  in 
this  respect,  as  in  others,  an  immense  improvement.  Secre 
tary  Schurz  in  the  Interior  Department  enforced  competi 
tive  examinations.  They  were  applied  by  Mr.  James  to  the 
K"ew  York  Post-Office,  and,  as  a  result,  one-third  more  work 
was  done  with  less  cost.  Similar  good  results  followed  the 
adoption  of  the  "merit  system"  in  the  Xew  York  Custom 
house  after  1879.  President  Hayes  also  strongly  condemned 
political  assessments  upon  office-holders,  but  with  small  prac 
tical  effect,  as  his  effort  lacked  full  legislative  sanction  and 
sympathy. 

But  the  corruption  which  had  enjoyed  immunity  so  long 
could  not  be  put  down  all  at  once.  During  Hayes's  last 
years,  and  thereafter,  much  public  attention  was  drawn  to 
the  "Star  Route"  frauds.  The  Star  Routes  were  stage-lines 
for  carrying  the  mails  in  sections  of  the  West  where  rail 
roads  and  steamboats  failed.  In  1878  there  were  9,225  of 
these  Star  Routes,  for  the  maintenance  of  which  Congress 
in  that  year  appropriated  $5,900,000.  A  Ring  made  up  on  the 
one  hand  of  Democratic  and  Republican  public  men,  some  of 


270  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

these  very  prominent,  and  on  the  other  hand, of  certain  mail 
contractors,  managed  to  increase  the  remuneration  for  service 
on  135  pet  routes  from  $143,169  to  $622,808.  On  twenty- 
six  of  the  routes  the  pay-roll  was  put  up  from  $65,216  to 
$530,319.  The  method  was,  first,  to  get  numerously  signed 
petitions  from  the  districts  interested,  praying  for  an  in 
crease  in  the  number  of  trips  per  week  and  shortening  the 
schedule  time  of  each  trip,  get  "estimates"  from  the  con 
tractors  vastly  in  excess  of  actual  cost  for  the  service,  get  these 
estimates  allowed  at  Washington,  and  then  divide  profits 
between  the  "statesmen"  and  citizens  interested  in  the  "deal." 
Over  some  of  these  lines,  it  was  asserted,  not  more  than  three 
letters  a  week  were  carried. 

Attention  was  drawn  to  the  Star  Route  matter  before  the 
close  of  Hayes's  term,  but  exposure  was  staved  off  until  Mr. 
James,  "the  model  ~New  York  Postmaster,"  assumed  the 
office  of  Postmaster-General.  On  May  6,  1881,  Mr.  James 
wrote  Thurlow  Weed:  "Rest  assured  I  shall  do  my  whole 
duty  in  the  matter  of  the  Star  Route  swindlers.  It  is  a  hard 
task,  but  it  shall  be  pushed  fearlessly,  regardless  of  whom  it 
may  involve." 

Thomas  W.  Brady,  Second  Assistant  Postmaster-General, 
was  supposed  to  be  a  member  of  the  Ring.  At  any  rate,  he 
threatened,  unless  proceedings  were  stopped,  to  publish  a  let 
ter  of  President  Garfield's  written  during  the  campaign. 
This  he  did.  It  was  the  famous  "My  dear  Hubbell"  epistle. 
The  writer,  addressing  "My  dear  Hubbell,"  hoped  that  "he" 
(referring  to  Brady)  "would  give  them  all  the  assistance  pos 
sible."  According  to  Brady,  this  meant  that  he  should, 
among  other  things,  get  money  from  the  Star  Route  contrac 
tors.  Garfield  insisted  that  it  was  simply  a  call  on  Brady 
to  contribute  from  his  own  pocket.  In  the  next  sentence  of 
the  letter,  however,  the  Presidential  candidate  asks:  "Please 
tell  me  how  the  departments  generally  are  doing."  This  will 
hardly  bear  any  other  construction  than  that  of  party  extor 
tion  from  the  Government  employees,  especially  since  this 
same  Hubbell,  as  chairman  of  the  Republican  Congressional 


ANYTHING  TO  BEAT  GRANT.  271 

Committee,  was  later  called  to  account  by  the  reformers  for 
levying  two  per  cent  assessments  upon  the  clerks — styled  by 
him  and  his  friends  "voluntary  contributions."  Whether 
Brady's  tu  quoque  availed  him,  or  for  some  other  reason,  his 
trial  was  postponed  and  he  was  never  convicted.  Senator  Dor- 
sey,  of  Arkansas,  was  also  arraigned,  but,  upon  his  second  trial, 
in  1883,  was  acquitted.  Indeed,  of  those  prosecuted  for 
fraud  in  connection  with  the  Star  Routes,  only  one  was  ever 
punished ;  and  in  this  case  the  Government  was  in  error,  as 
the  man  was  innocent. 

The  tragic  fate  of  President  Garfield,  taken  in  connection 
with  these  and  other  revelations  of  continuing  political  cor 
ruption,  brought  public  sentiment  on.  civil  service  reform 
to  a  head.  A  bill  prepared  by  the  Civil  Service  Reform 
League,  and  in  1880  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Senator 
Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  passed  Congress  in  January,  1883,  and 
011  the  16th  of  that  month  received  the  signature  of  Presi 
dent  Arthur. 

Renewing,  in  the  main,  the  provisions  adopted  under  the 
Act  of  1871,  it  authorized  the  President,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  appoint  three  Civil  Service  Commissioners,  who 
were  to  institute  competitive  examinations  open  to  all  per 
sons  desiring  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  Government.  It  pro 
vided  that  the  clerks  in  the  departments  at  Washington,  and 
in  every  customs  district  or  post-office  where  fifty  or  more 
were  employed,  should  be  arranged  in  classes,  and  that  in 
the  future  only  persons  who  had  passed  the  examinations 
should  be  appointed  to  service  in  these  offices  or  promoted 
from  a  lower  class  to  a  higher,  preference  being  given  accord 
ing  to  rank  in  the  examinations.  Candidates  were  to  serve 
six  months7  probation  at  practical  work  before  receiving  a 
final  appointment. 

The  bill  struck  a  heavy  blow  at  political  assessments,  by 
declaring  that  no  official  should  be  removed  for  refusing  to 
contribute  to  political  funds.  A  Congressman  or  Govern 
ment  official  convicted  of  soliciting  or  receiving  political  as 
sessments  from  Government  employees  became  liable  to 


272  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

$5,000  fine  or  three  years'  imprisonment,  or  both.  Persons 
in  the  Government  service  were  forbidden  to  use  their  official 
authority  or  influence  to  coerce  the  political  action  of  any  one, 
or  to  interfere  with  elections.  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  Leroy  D. 
Thoman,  and  John  M.  Gregory  were  appointed  commission 
ers  by  President  Arthur.  By  the  end  of  the  year  the  new 
system  was  fairly  in  operation.  Besides  the  departments  at 
Washington,  it  applied  to  eleven  customs  districts  and  twenty- 
three  post-offices  where  fifty  or  more  officials  were  employed. 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  273 


CHAPTEK  XIII. 

DOMESTIC  EVENTS  DURING  MR.  ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Mr.  Arthur's  Dilemma — His  Accession — Responsibility  Evokes  His 
Best  —  The  Presidential  Succession  Question  —  Succession  Act 
Passed — Electoral  Count  Act  Passed — Arthur's  Cabinet — Con 
dition  of  the  Country  in  1881 — Decadence  of  Our  Ocean  Carrying 
— Tariff  Commission  of  1882  and  the  Tariff  of  1883 — Mahone 
and  the  Virginia  "Readjusters" — Mahone's  Record — His  Entry 
Into  the  Senate — President  Arthur  and  the  Chinese — Origin  of 
the  Chinese  Question — Anson  Burlingame — The  1878  Embassy 
— Chinese  Throng  Hither — Early  California — The  Strike  of  1877 
Affects  California — Rise  and  Character  of  Denis  Kearney — His 
Programme — The  "Sand-Lot"  Campaign — Kearney's  Moderation 
— He  is  Courted — And  Opposed — His  Constitutional  Convention 
— Its  Work — Kearneyism  to  the  Rear — The  James  Desperadoes — 
Their  Capture — The  Yorktown  Celebration — Mementoes  of  Old 
Yorktown — The  Pageant — "Surrender"  Day — The  Other  Days — 
Close  of  the  Fete — Flood  and  Riot  in  Cincinnati. 

DURING  Garfield's  illness  Mr.  Arthur's  predicament  had 
been  most  delicate.  The  second  article  of  the  Constitution 
provides  that  "in  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from 
office,  or  of  his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge 
the  powers  and  duties  of  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve 
on  the  Vice-President."  What  is  here  meant  by  a  President's 
"inability,"  and  how  or  by  whom  such  inability  is  in  any 
case  to  be  ascertained,  had  never  been  determined.  Was  the 
question  of  "inability"  to  be  decided  by  the  President  him 
self,  by  the  Vice-President,  or  by  Congress  ?  Could  the  Vice- 
President  take  up  Presidential  duties  temporarily,  giving 
way  again  to  the  President  in  case  the  latter  recovered,  or 
must  he,  having  begun,  serve  through  the  remainder  of  the 
four  years,  the  once  disabled  President  being  permanently 
out  of  office  ?  These  problems  doubtless  weighed  heavily 
upon  Mr.  Arthur's  mind  while  his  chief  lay  languishing. 
They  were  everywhere  discussed  daily.  A  popular  view  was 


274  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

advocated  by  General  Butler,  to  the  effect  that  the  \7ice-Presi- 
dent  himself  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  deciding  when  to 
take  up  the  higher  functions.  As  Garfield's  was  a  clear  case 
of  "inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Presi 
dency/7  Mr.  Arthur  may  actually  have  felt  it,  from  a  techni 
cally  legal  point  of  view,  incumbent  upon  him  to  assume 
these  "powers  and  duties."  In  a  Cabinet  meeting  Mr.  Blaine 
suggested  that  Mr.  Arthur  be  summoned  to  do  this,  intimat 
ing  that  the  chief  direction  ought  certainly  to  be  devolved 
on  Arthur  should  an  extraordinary  emergency  in  administra 
tion  arise.  It  was  fortunate  that  no  such  emergency  occurred, 
and  that  Mr.  Arthur  did  not  feel  for  any  reason  called  upon 
to  grasp  the  reins  of  government.  At  this  critical  juncture  he 
might  easily  have  acted,  or  even  spoken,  in  a  manner  seriously 
to  compromise  himself  and  his  country.  Far  from  doing  any 
thing  of  the  sort,  he  was  singularly  discreet  through  the  whole 
trial. 

Hardly  had  Garfield  breathed  his  last,  when,  the  same 
night,  in  the  small  morning  hours  of  September  20,  1881, 
Mr.  Arthur  took  oath  as  President.  This  occurred  in  his 
house  in  New  York  City,  Judge  Brady,  of  the  New  York 
State  Supreme  Court,  officiating.  The  next  day  but  one,  the 
oath  was  again  administered  by  Chief  Justice  Waite  in  the 
Senate  Chamber  at  Washington.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Ar 
thur  delivered  a  brief  inaugural  address.  He  said :  "The 
memory  of  the  murdered  President,  his  protracted  sufferings, 
his  unyielding  fortitude,  the  example  and  achievements  of 
his  life  and  the  pathos  of  his  death,  will  forever  illuminate 
the  pages  of  our  history.  Men  may  die,  but  the  fabrics  of 
our  free  institutions  remain  unshaken.  No  higher  or  more 
assuring  proof  could  exist  of  the  strength  and  power  of  popu 
lar  government  than  the  fact  that,  though  the  chosen  of  the 
people  be  struck  down,  the  Constitutional  successor  is  peace 
fully  installed  without  shock  or  strain." 

Responsibility  brought  out  the  new  President's  best  quali 
ties.  He  had  little  special  preparation  for  his  exalted  office. 
Save  among  the  New  York  Republicans,  he  was  almost  un- 


DOMESTIC   EVENTS.  275 

known  till  his  nomination  as  Vice-President,  and  when  he 
succeeded  Garfield  there  was  much  misgiving.  Yet  his  Ad 
ministration  was  distinguished  as  few  have  been  for  ability, 
fairness,  elevation  of  tone,  and  freedom  from  mean  partisan 
ship.  He  was  extremely  diligent,  circumspect,  considerate, 
and  firm.  That  he  had  nerve  men  saw  when,  in  1882,  he 
resolutely  vetoed  a  portentously  large  River  and  Harbor  Bill. 
His  public  papers  were  in  admirable  spirit,  thoroughly  con 
sidered,  and  written  in  a  style  finer  than  those  of  any  preced 
ing  President  since  John  Quincy  Adams. 

The  country's  ordeal  in  connection  with  Garfield's  death 
led  to  an  important  piece  of  legislation.  Few  were  then  or 
are  now  aware  by  what  a  slender  thread  the  orderly  govern 
ment  of  our  country  hung  between  the  shooting  of  Garfield 
in  July,  1881,  and  the  second  special  session  of  the  Senate  of 
the  Forty-seventh  Congress  the  following  October.  Had  Mr. 
Arthur  died  at  any  moment  during  this  period — and  it  is 
said  that  he  was  for  a  time  in  imminent  danger  of  death — 
or  had  he  become  in  any  way  unable  to  perform  a  President's 
duties,  there  could  have  been  no  Constitutional  succession  to 
the  Presidency.  The  law  of  March,  1792,  declares  that  in 
case  the  Vice-President  as  well  as  the  President  dies,  is  re 
moved,  or  is  disqualified,  "the  President  of  the  Senate  pro 
tempore,  or,  if  there  is  none,  then  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  for  the  time  being,  shall  act  as  President 
until  the  disability  is  removed  or  a  President  elected."  But 
at  the  time  of  Garfield' s  assassination,  neither  a  President 
pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  nor  a  Speaker  of  the  House  ex 
isted.  It  had  been  customary  for  the  Vice-President  before 
the  end  of  a  session  of  the  Senate  to  retire,  and  so  require  the 
appointment  of  a  President  pro  tempore  who  should  continue 
as  such  during  the  recess ;  but  on  this  occasion  the  special  ses 
sion  of  the  Senate  in  May  had  adjourned  without  electing 
any  such  presiding  officer.  On  October  10th  Senator  Bayard 
was  made  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  followed  on 
the  13th  by  Senator  David  Davis.  Of  course  there  could  be 
no  Speaker  at  this  time,  as  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  had 


276  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ceased  to  exist  in  March,  and  the  House  of  the  Forty-seventh 
did  not  convene  till  December. 

In  his  first  annual  message  President  Arthur  commended 
to  the  "early  and  thoughtful  consideration  of  Congress"  the 
important  questions  touching  the  Presidential  succession 
which  had  so  vividly  emerged  in  consequence  of  his  prede 
cessor's  assassination.  It  had  been  a  question  whether  the 
statute  of  1892  was  Constitutional.  The  ground  of  the  doubt 
was  that,  according  to  the  doctrine  agreed  to  when,  in  1798, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  impeach  Senator  Blount,  of  Tennes 
see,  Speakers  of  the  House  and  temporary  Presidents  of  the 
Senate  are  not,  technically,  "officers  of  the  United  States." 
Hence,  were  either  a  Speaker  or  a  temporary  head  of  the  Sen 
ate  to  take  a  President's  place,  Presidential  duties  would  be 
devolved  on  an  official  who  could  not  be  impeached  for  mal 
feasance.  The  law  of  1792  was  objectionable  for  other  rea 
sons.  It  originally  passed  only  by  a  narrow  majority.  Many 
then  wished  that  the  Presidential  succession  should  take  the 
direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  had  not  Jefferson 
held  this  office  at  the  time  the  law  would  probably  have  so 
provided. 

On  the  second  day  of  its  first  regular  session  the  Senate 
of  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  ordered  its  Judiciary  Com 
mittee  to  consider  the  question  of  the  Presidential  succession, 
inquire  whether  any,  and  if  so,  what,  further  legislation  was 
necessary  in  respect  to  the  same,  and  to  report  by  bill  or  other 
wise.  A  bill  to  meet  the  case  was  soon  introduced  by  Senator 
Garland,  of  Arkansas.  The  matter  was  briefly  debated  both 
then  and  at  intervals  for  a  number  of  years ;  but  no  legisla 
tion  upon  it  occurred  till  January,  1886,  when  the  Forty- 
ninth  Congress  passed  a  law  based  on  Garland's  draft.  It 
provided  that  if  the  Presidency  and  the  Vice-Presidency  are 
both  vacant  the  Presidency  passes  to  the  members  of  the  Cabi 
net  in  the  historical  order  of  the  establishment  of  their  depart 
ments,  beginning  with  the  Secretary  of  State.  If  he  dies,  is 
impeached,  or  disabled,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  becomes 
President,  to  be  followed  in  like  crisis  by  the  Secretary  of 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  277 

War,  he  by  the  Attorney-General,  he  by  the  Postmaster-Gen 
eral,  he  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  he  by  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Interior.  To  be  thus  in  the  line  of  the  Presiden 
tial  succession  a  Cabinet  officer  must  have  been  duly  con 
firmed  as  such  and  must  be  Constitutionally  eligible  to  the 
Presidency.  If  Congress  is  not  in  session  when  one  of  these 
officers  thus  comes  to  the  Presidency,  and  is  not  to  convene 
in  twenty  days,  the  new  President  must  issue  a  proclamation 
convening  Congress  after  twenty  days,  and  Congress  must 
then  order  a  new  election  for  President. 

The  Forty-ninth  Congress  also  passed,  on  February  3, 
1887,  an  act  to  fix  the  day  for  the  meeting  of  the  electors  of 
President  and  Vice-President,  and  to  provide  for  and  regu 
late  the  counting  of  the  votes  for  President  and  Vice-Presi 
dent  and  the  decision  of  questions  arising  thereon.  The  as 
certainment  of  the  electors  within  and  for  any  State  is  so  far 
as  possible  made  the  business  of  that  State,  any  judicial  deter 
mination  made  for  this  purpose  within  six  days  of  the  elec 
tors'  meeting  being  binding  on  Congress.  In  case  of  a  single 
return  fixing  the  personnel  of  the  electors  the  vote  of  any 
elector  can  be  rejected  only  by  the  two  Houses  concurrently 
agreeing  that  it  was  not  legally  cast.  In  case  of  conflicting 
returns  one  of  which  a  State  tribunal  has  adjudged  to  be 
legal,  only  those  votes  denoted  by  this  return  can  be  counted. 
If  there  is  a  question  which  of  two  or  more  authorities  or 
tribunals  had  the  right  to  determine  the  legal  electoral  vote 
of  the  State,  the  votes,  being  regularly  cast,  of  the  electors 
whose  title  the  two  Houses  acting  separately  concurrently  de 
cide  to  be  the  legal  ones,  are  counted.  If  there  has  been  no 
determination  of  the  question  of  electors'  legitimacy,  those 
votes  and  those  only  are  counted  which  the  two  Houses  con 
currently  decide  to  have  been  cast  by  the  lawful  electors ;  un 
less  the  two  Houses  acting  separately  concurrently  decide  that 
such  votes  were  not  the  legal  votes  of  the  legally  elected 
electors. 

We  still  have  no  legal  or  official  criterion  of  a  President's 
"inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  his  office," 


278  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

nor  has  any  tribunal  been  designated  for  the  settlement  of  the 
question  when  it  arises.  We  do  not  know  whether,  were  an 
other  President  so  ill  as  Garfield  was,  it  would  be  proper  for 
the  Cabinet  to  perform  Presidential  duties,  as  Garfield's  did, 
or  whether  the  Yice-President  would  be  bound  to  assume 
those  duties.  Barring  this  chance  for  conflict,  it  is  not  easy 
to  think  of  an  emergency  in  which  the  Chief  Magistracy  can 
now  fall  vacant  or  the  appropriate  incumbent  thereof  be  in 
doubt. 

The  only  member  of  Gar  field's  Cabinet  whom  Arthur 
permanently  retained  was  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Secretary  of 
War.  However,  the  old  Cabinet  did  not  dissolve  at  once. 
Not  till  December  19,  1881,  did  Mr.  Elaine,  who  had  prac 
tically  been  at  the  head  of  the  Government  from  the  Presi 
dent's  assassination  till  his  death,  surrender  the  State  port 
folio.  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen,  of  New  Jersey,  took  his 
place.  Ex-Governor  Edwin  D.  Morgan,  of  New  York,  had 
been  nominated  and  confirmed  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
but  had  declined  on  account  of  ill  health.  Judge  Charles 
J.  Folger  took  the  Treasury  portfolio.  November  15,  1881. 
In  April,  1882,  William  E.  Chandler,  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  Henry  M.  Teller,  of  Colorado,  were  called  to  the  Navy 
and  Interior  Departments  respectively.  January  5,  1882, 
Timothy  O.  Howe,  of  Wisconsin,  was  confirmed  as  Postmas 
ter-General,  but  he  died  in  March,  1883.  Walter  Q.  Gres- 
ham  succeeded  him.  Benjamin  H.  Brewster,  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  was  confirmed  Attorney-General  in  December,  1881. 
Secretary  Folger  died  in  1884.  Gresham  was  then  trans 
ferred  to  the  Treasury,  Assistant  Postmaster-General  Frank 
Hatton  being  advanced  to  the  head  of  the  Post-Office  Depart 
ment.  Mr.  Gresham  soon  resigned  to  accept  a  Circuit  Judge- 
ship  on  the  Seventh  Circuit.  His  place  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  was  filled  by  Hugh  McCulloch,  who  had  adminis 
tered  most  acceptably  the  same  office  from  1865  to  1869. 

In  addressing  Congress  for  the  first  time,  President  Ar 
thur  was  able  to  represent  the  condition  of  the  country  as 
excellent.  Colorado  had  been  admitted  to  the  Union  in 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  279 

1876.  During  the  decade  ending  in  1880  our  population 
had  grown  somewhat  over  twenty-five  per  cent,  that  is,  from 
thirty-eight  millions  to  fifty  millions.  The  net  public  debt, 
December  31,  1880,  was  a  trifle  less  than  $1,900,000,000,  a 
decrease  in  the  face  of  the  debt  of  $600,000,000  in  the  ten 
years.  Agricultural  production  was  found  to  have  advanced 
one  hundred  per  cent,  while,  according  to  the  ninth  census, 
the  increase  from  1870  to  1880  had  been  but  twelve  per  cent. 
The  tenth  census  corrected  certain  figures  relating  to  our  na 
tional  area,  making  the  country  eight  hundred  square  miles 
smaller  than  it  had  been  supposed  to  be. 

Americans  thought  it  a  serious  matter  that  for  the  year 
1879  the  foreign  trade  of  Great  Britain  exceeded  $3,000,000,- 
000,  two  and  a  half  times  the  amount  of  ours.  It  was  also  a 
source  of  solicitude  that  we  were  the  only  civilized  country  in 
the  world  whose  ocean-carrying  had  absolutely  decreased  since 
1856.  In  that  year  American  ships  bore  seventy-five  per 
cent  of  all  we  exported  and  of  all  we  imported.  In  1878 
American  ships  bore  twenty-five  per  cent;  in  1882  fifteen  per 
cent.  Though  our  foreign  commerce  had  increased  seventy 
per  cent  in  amount,  the  cargoes  transported  in  American  ships 
were  $200,000,000  less  valuable  in  1878  than  in  1857.  In 
1856  foreign  vessels  entered  at  our  ports  had  a  tonnage  of 
3,117,034.  By  1881  it  had  increased  308  per  cent  or  to 
12,711,392  tons,  of  which  8,457,797  sailed  under  the  Union 
Jack.  On  the  other  hand,  American  tonnage  from  foreign 
ports,  in  the  same  period,  increased  from  1,891,453  to  2,919,- 
149,  or  only  54  per  cent.  "The  continuing  decline  of  the 
merchant  marine  of  the  United  States,"  wrote  President 
Arthur,  "is  greatly  to  be  deplored.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
we  furnish  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  freights  of  the  com 
mercial  world,  and  that  our  shipments  are  steadily  and  rap 
idly  increasing,  it  is  a  cause  of  surprise  that  not  only  is  our 
navigation  interest  diminishing,  but  it  is  less  than  when  our 
exports  and  imports  were  not  half  so  large  as  now  either  in 
bulk  or  in  value." 

An  Act  of  Congress  passed  May   15,   1882,   created  a 


280  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Tariff  Commission  consisting  of  prominent  manufacturers 
and  others,  viz. :  J.  L.  Hayes,  H.  W.  Oliver,  A.  M.  Garland, 
J.  A.  Ambler,  Eobert  P.  Porter,  J.  W.  H.  Underwood,  A.  K. 
Boteler,  and  Duncan  F.  Kennon.  After  long  investigation 
and  deliberation,  having  examined  many  witnesses,  these 
gentlemen  brought  in  in  December  an  able,  luminous,  and 
comprehensive  report  of  2,500  printed  pages,  forming  an 
invaluable  exhibit  of  our  then  customs  laws,  their  merits 
and  defects.  Part  of  it  ran :  "In  the  performance  of  the  duty 
devolved  upon  them,  all  the  members  of  the  Commission 
have  aimed,  and,  as  they  believe,  with  success,  to  divest  them 
selves  of  political  bias,  sectional  prejudice,  or  considerations 
of  personal  interest.  It  is  their  desire  that  their  recommen 
dations  shall  serve  no  particular  party,  class,  section,  or  school 
of  political  economy." 

In  this  report  the  Commission  recommended  an  average 
reduction  in  tariff  rates  of  not  less  than  20  per  cent.  In 
certain  rates  a  lowering  of  50  per  cent  was  urged.  The  Sen 
ate  amended  a  House  internal  revenue  measure  by  adding  a 
tariff  bill  calculated  to  effect  some  reduction,  though  less 
radical  and  less  impartial  than  that  wished  by  the  Commis 
sion.  "If  the  Senate  Finance  Committee  had  embodied  in 
this  bill  the  recommendations  of  the  Tariff  Commission,  in 
cluding  the  schedules,  without  amendment  or  change,  the 
tariff  would  have  been  settled  for  many  years.  Unfortu 
nately,  this  was  not  done,  but  the  schedules  prescribing  the 
rates  of  duty  and  their  classification  were  so  radically  changed 
by  the  Committee  that  the  scheme  of  the  Tariff  Commission 
was  practically  defeated.  Many  persons  wishing  to  advance 
their  particular  industries  appeared  before  the  Committee 
and  succeeded  in  having  their  views  adopted."  1 

A  two-thirds  vote  was  required  to  bring  this  Senate  bill 
before  the  House.  Wishing  it  referred  to  a  conference  com 
mittee,  which  'would  be  to  their  advantage,  the  high-protec 
tion  leaders  in  the  House  adroitly  got  the  rules  revised,  en- 


1  John  Sherman,  "Recollections." 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  281 

abling  a  bare  majority  to  non-concur  in  the  Senate  amend 
ment,  but  not  to  concur  therein  so  as  to  pass  the  bill.  The 
measure,  therefore,  went  to  the  Conference  Committee.  There 
it  took  on  features  much  more  highly  protectionist.  The  re 
sulting  act,  the  tariff  law  of  1883,  in  some  instances  advanced 
customs  rates  even  over  their  former  figures,  making  them 
higher  than  either  Commission,  Senate,  or  House  had  pro 
posed,  closely  approximating  those  of  the  old  War  tariff.  The 
average  diminution  from  the  tariff  as  it  previously  stood 
was,  perhaps,  about  four  per  cent. 

This  act  paved  the  way  for  infinite  trouble  over  the 
tariff.  It  was  full  of  irrational  and  contradictory  provisions, 
and,  as  a  whole,  pleased  nobody.  Each  industry  wished  what 
it  purchased  treated  as  raw  material,  to  be  tariffed  low  or 
not  at  all,  and  what  it  sold  considered  as  the  finished  article, 
to  receive  the  highest  rates.  Struggle  over  these  conflicting 
interests  was  apparent  in  the  many  incongruous  features  of 
the  act. 

It  was  significant  that  Mr.  Arthur's  first  message  made 
no  allusion  to  the  Southern  question.  All  felt,  so  well  had 
Mr.  Hayes's  policy  worked,  that  that  section  might  now  be 
safely  left  to  itself.  Meantime  the  "Readjuster"  controversy 
in  Virginia  bade  fair  to  be  the  entering  wedge  for  a  split  in 
the  solid  South.  The  Readjusters  were  a  Democratic  fac 
tion  taking  name  from  their  desire  to  "readjust"  the  State 
debt  on  a  basis  that  meant  partial  repudiation.  In  1879,  by 
a  fusion  with  the  Republicans,  the  Readjusters  controlled  the 
State  and  elected  their  leader,  William  Mahone,  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  Mahone  had  been  a  major-general  in  the  Con 
federate  Army,  and  his  bravery  greatly  endeared  him  to 
the  Southern  heart.  He  it  was  who  commanded  the  slender 
contingent  of  Confederates  at  Petersburg  on  July  30,  1864, 
when  the  mine  on  Burnside's  front  was  exploded.  He  there 
fought  like  a  tiger,  and  made  his  dispositions  with  the  utmost 
skill  and  coolness.  To  him  almost  alone  was  due  the  credit 
that  day  of  keeping  Petersburg  from  Union  hands  and  of  re 
placing  the  Confederate  lines  by  sunset  exactly  where  they 


282  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

were  at  sunrise.  Had  the  Confederacy  endured,  he  should 
have  been  one  of  its  Presidents  for  his  meritorious  services  in 
this  battle.  The  negro  vote  helped  Mahone.  He  had  always 
favored  fair  treatment  for  the  black  man.  In  his  county  the 
blacks  had  voted  freely  and  their  votes  had  been  counted  as 
cast.  Good  provision  for  colored  schools  had  also  been  made 
there. 

The  Virginian's  entry  into  the  Senate  in  1881  was 
marked  by  a  dramatic  passage  at  arms.  His  personal  ap 
pearance  drew  attention.  He  had  been  a  striking  figure  in 
battle  uniform,  and  he  was  hardly  less  so  in  citizen's  attire. 
He  wore  a  close-bodied  suit  of  brown  broadcloth,  frilled  cuffs 
extending  beyond  the  sleeves.  He  had  a  small  head  and 
spindle  legs.  His  hair  and  beard  were  long,  his  stature 
diminutive.  One  described  him  as  "a  spry  midget,  full  of 
Irish  fire,  who  enjoyed  cutting  a  national  figure."  As 
elected,  the  Senate  of  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  had  a  small 
Republican  majority,  but  Garfield's  Cabinet  appointments, 
calling  away  the  three  Republican  Senators — Elaine,  Kirk- 
wood,  and  Windom — left  the^two  parties  in  the  body  equally 
divided.  When  the  fight  for  organization  came  on  there  were 
thirty-seven  sure  Republicans  and  thirty-seven  sure  Demo 
crats,  not  counting  David  Davis  or  Mahone,  both  of  whom 
were  expected  to  act  more  or  less  independently  of  party. 
Davis,  favoring  the  status  quo  and  evidently  expecting  Ma 
hone  to  vote  with  the  Democrats  in  organizing,  declared  him 
self  resolved  "to  support  the  organization  of  the  Senate  as 
it  stood."  It  had  till  now  been  Democratic.  Had  Mahone 
sided  with  him,  the  committees  as  made  up  by  the  Demo 
cratic  caucus  would  have  been  elected.  But  in  spite  of 
Democratic  pleadings  and  denunciation,  Mahone  concluded 
to  support  the  Republicans.  This  tied  the  Senate,  even  if 
Davis  voted  with  the  Democrats,  and  Vice-President  Arthur 
could  of  course  be  counted  on  to  turn  the  vote  the  Republican 
way.  This  he  did  in  postponing  indefinitely  the  motion  to 
elect  the  Democratic  committees  and  in  electing  the  Repub 
lican  list.  When  it  came  to  choosing  sergeant-at-arms  and 


DOMESTIC   EVENTS. 

clerks,  Davis,  now  favoring  the  new  status,  as  before  he  had 
the  old,  voted  with  the  Republicans. 

Mahone's  course  aroused  great  wrath,  especally  among 
the  Southern  Senators.  ""Who  is  that  man  ?"  cried  Senator 
Hill,  of  Georgia,  amid  laughter  from  the  Republican  side  of 
the  Chamber.  "'Who  is  that  man  so  ambitious  to  do  what 
no  man  in  the  history  of  this  country  has  ever  yet  done — 
stand  up  in  this  high  presence  and  proclaim  from  this  proud 
eminence  that  he  disgraces  the  commission  he  holds?  Such 
a  man  is  not  worthy  to  be  a  Democrat.  Is  he  worthy  to 
be  a  Republican  ?"  In  rejoinder  Mahone,  while  declaring 
himself  a  Democrat  in  principle,  denied  that  he  was  indebted 
to  the  Democratic  party  for  his  place  in  the  Senate.  He  con 
cluded  :  "I  want  that  gentleman  to  know  henceforth  and 
forever  that  here  is  a  man  who  dares  stand  and  defend  his 
right  against  you  and  your  caucus."  Senator  Hill's  query 
was  forthwith  answered.  Mahone  was  welcomed  by  the  Re 
publicans  with  open  arms.  A  bouquet  of  flowers,  said  to  be 
from  President  Garfield,  was  sent  to  his  desk,  and  Federal 
patronage  in  Virginia  was  placed  at  his  disposal. 

A  storm  of  indignation  from  the  Pacific  Coast  fell  upon 
President  Arthur's  head  when,  in  1882,  he  vetoed  a  bill  for 
restricting  Chinese  immigration.  To  understand  the  reason 
of  his  act  and  of  his  unpopularity,  a  brief  review  is  neces 
sary. 

What  originally  brought  the  Chinaman  to  our  shores 
was  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California.  At  first  he  was  not 
unwelcome.  Said  the  "Alta  California"  of  May  12,  1851: 
"Quite  a  large  number  of  Celestials  have  arrived  among  us 
of  late,  enticed  hither  by  the  golden  romance  which  has  filled 
the  world.  Scarcely  a  ship  arrives  that  does  not  bring  an 
increase  of  this  worthy  integer  of  our  population."  The 
"worthy  integer"  was  soon  engaged  in  an  exciting  though  not 
enviable  part  of  the  "golden  romance,"  for  the  next  year  we 
read  that  gangs  of  miners  were  "running  out"  Chinese  set 
tlers.  This  race  strife  on  the  Coast  was  incessant  both  dur 
ing  and  after  the  war. 


284:  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Meantime,  Anson  Burlingame,  our  Minister  to  China, 
who  during  an  intercourse  of  some  years  had  come  to  possess 
the  confidence  of  the  Chinese  in  an  unusual  degree,  had  been 
intrusted  by  them  with  a  mission  which  at  first  seemed  as 
though  it  might  lead  to  new  relations.  On  his  return  he 
bore  credentials  constituting  him  China's  ambassador  to  the 
United  States  and  to  Europe.  He  proceeded  to  negotiate 
with  this  country  a  treaty  of  amity,  which  was  signed  on 
July  4,  1868.  But  anti-Chinese  agitation  did  not  cease.  In 
1871  occurred  a  riot  in  the  streets  of  Los  Angeles,  when  fif 
teen  Chinamen  were  hanged  and  six  others  shot,  Chinamen 
having  murdered  one  police  officer  and  wounded  two  others. 
In  1878  an  anti-Chinese  bill  passed  Congress,  but  was  vetoed 
by  President  Hayes  as  repugnant  to  the  Burlingame  treaty. 
Rage  against  the  Celestials,  to  which  all  forces  in  the  Pacific 
States  had  bent,  being  thus  baffled  at  Washington,  grew  more 
clamorous  than  ever. 

On  September  28,  1878,  a  new  Chinese  embassy  waited 
upon  President  Hayes.  .  The  ambassador,  Chen  Lan  Pin, 
wore  the  regulation  bowl-shaped  hat,  adorned  with  the  scar 
let  button  of  the  second  order  and  with  a  depending  pea 
cock  plume,  caught  by  jeweled  fastenings.  His  garments 
were  of  finest  silk.  He  had  on  a  blouse  with  blue  satin  col 
lar,  a  skirt  of  darker  stuff,  sandal-shaped  shoes,  and  leggings 
of  the  richest  kid.  His  letter  of  credence  was  drawn  by  an 
attendant  from  a  cylinder  of  bamboo  embellished  with  gold. 
In  this  document  the  Emperor  expressed  the  hope  that  the 
embassy  would  "eventually  unite  the  East  and  the  West  under 
an  enlightened  and  progressive  civilization."  The  indirect 
issue  of  this  embassage  was  a  fresh  treaty,  ratified  in  March, 
1881,  amending  the  Burlingame  compact. 

That  compact,  recognizing  as  inalienable  the  right  of 
every  man  to  change  his  abode,  had  permitted  the  free  immi 
gration  of  Chinamen  into  the  United  States.  The  new  treaty 
of  1881  so  modified  this  feature  that  immigration  might  be 
regulated,  limited  or  suspended  by  us  for  no  specified  period 
should  it  threaten  to  affect  the  interests  of  the  United  States 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  285 

or  to  endanger  their  good  order.  A  bill  soon  followed  prohib 
iting  Chinese  immigration  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  on 
the  ground  that  the  presence  of  the  Mongolians  caused  dis 
order  in  certain  localities.  This  was  the  bill  which  President 
Arthur  vetoed  as  contravening  the  treaty,  he  objecting,  among 
much  else,  to  the  systems  of  passports  and  registration  which 
the  bill  would  impose  upon  resident  Chinese.  But  the  advo 
cates  of  the  exclusion  policy  were  in  earnest,  wrought  up  by 
the  growing  hordes  of  Celestials  pressing  hither. 

Only  sixty-three  thousand  Chinese  had  been  in  the  coun 
try  in  1870;  in  1880  there  were  one  hundred  and  five  thou 
sand.  Another  bill  was  at  once  introduced,  substituting  ten 
for  twenty  years  as  the  time  of  suspension,  and  it  became  a 
law  in  1882.  China  sent  a  protest,  which  availed  naught. 

Interwoven  with  the  Chinese  agitation,  as  well  as  with 
nearly  all  the  national  problems  of  that  day  and  this,  was 
the  movement  known  as  Keameyism,  which  took  form  in 
California  in  1877  and  found  expression  in  the  State  Con 
stitution  of  1879.  Habits  of  mental  unrest,  engendered  by 
speculation  and  the  gold  fever,  had  marked  California  so 
ciety  since  1849.  A  tendency  existed  to  appeal  to  extra- 
legal  measures  for  peace  and  justice.  The  golden  dream  had 
faded.  Although  wages  were  higher  in  California  than  in 
most  parts  of  the  country,  working  people  there  showed  much 
discontent.  In  no  State  had  land  grants  been  more  lavish  or 
the  immense  size  of  landed  estates  more  injurious.  Farming 
their  vast  tracts  by  improved  machinery,  the  proprietors  each 
season  hired  great  throngs  of  laborers,  who,  when  work  was 
over,  betook  themselves  to  the  cities  and  swelled  the  ranks 
of  the  unemployed.  Worse  yet,  California  was  in  the  hands 
of  a  railroad  monopoly  which,  by  threats  or  blandishments, 
controlled  nearly  every  State  official.  Politics  were  cor 
rupt  and  political  factions,  with  their  selfish  and  distracting 
quarrels,  were  numerous.  The  politician  was  hated  next  to 
the  "Nob"  who  owned  him. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  Keameyism  was  the  great 
railroad  strike  at  the  East  in  1877.  The  California  lines, 


286  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

having  announced  a  reduction  of  wages,  were  threatened  with 
a  similar  strike,  but  took  alarm  at  the  burning  and  fighting 
in  Pittsburg  and  rescinded  the  notice.  Nevertheless,  a  mass- 
meeting  was  called  to  express  sympathy  with  the  Eastern 
strikers.  It  was  held  on  July  23d.  The  new-rich  grandees 
trembled.  Authorities  took  precautions,  but  at  the  meeting 
no  disorder  occurred.  During  this  and  two  following  even 
ings,  a  number  of  Chinese  wash-houses  were  destroyed  and 
some  persons  killed.  The  violence  was  naturally  ascribed  to 
the  workingmen.  A  Committee  of  Public  Safety  was  organ 
ized  under  William  T.  Coleman,  President  of  the  Vigilance 
Committee  of  1856.  The  laboring  men  denied  their  alleged 
complicity  with  the  lawlessness,  and  a  number  enlisted  in 
Mr.  Coleman's  "pick-handle  brigade,"  which  patrolled  the 
city  for  a  few  days.  Among  the  pick-handle  brigadiers  was 
Denis  Kearney,  a  man  at  once  extreme  in  theories  and  lan 
guage  and  singularly  temperate  in  personal  habits.  Born 
in  1847,  at  Oakmount,  Ireland,  from  eleven  years  of  age  to 
twenty-five  he  had  followed  the  sea,  but  since  1872  had 
prospered  as  a  drayman  in  San  Francisco.  He  was  short, 
well  built,  with  a  broad  head,  a  light  mustache,  a  quick  but 
lowering  blue  eye,  ready  utterance  and  a  pleasant  voice.  He 
was  of  nervous  temperament,  and  had  the  bluster  and  domi 
neering  way  of  a  sailor,  withal  possessing  remarkable  shrewd 
ness,  enterprise,  and  initiative.  For  two  years  he  had  spent 
part  of  each  Sunday  at  a  lyceum  for  self -culture,  where  he 
had  leveled  denunciations  at  the  laziness  and  extravagance 
of  the  working-classes,  at  the  opponents  of  Chinese  immigra 
tion  and  at  anti-capitalists  in  general. 

.For  some  reason,  whether  from  a  change  of  heart,  or  on 
account  of  unlucky  dabbling  in  stocks,  or  because  rebuffed 
by  Senator  Sargent,  Kearney  determined  to  turn  about  and 
agitate  against  all  that  he  had  held  dear.  On  September  12, 
1877,  a  company  of  the  unemployed  in  San  Francisco  assem 
bled  and  organized  "The  Workingmen's  Party  of  California," 
Its  salient  principles  were  the  establishment  of  a  State  Bu 
reau  of  Labor  and  Statistics  and  of  a  State  Labor  Coramis- 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  287 

sion,  the  legal  regulation  of  the  hours  of  labor,  the  abolition 
of  poverty  along  with  all  land  and  moneyed  monopoly,  and 
the  ejection  of  the  Chinese.  Kearney,  conspicuous  among  the 
extremists,  was  chosen  president.  His  advanced  ideas  were 
incorporated  into  the  party's  creed,  as  follows : 

"We  propose  to  wrest  the  Government  from  the  hands 
of  the  rich  and  place  it  in  those  of  the  people.  We  propose 
to  rid  the  country  of  cheap  Chinese  labor.  We  propose  to 
destroy  land  monopoly  in  our  State.  We  propose  to  destroy 
the  great  money  power  of  the  rich  by  a  system  of  taxation 
that  will  make  great  wealth  impossible.  We  propose  to  pro 
vide  decently  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate,  the  weak,  the 
helpless,  and  especially  the  young,  because  the  country  is 
rich  enough  to  do  so,  and  religion,  humanity,  and  patriotism 
demand  that  we  should  do  so.  We  propose  to  elect  none  but 
competent  workingmen  and  their  friends  to  any  office.  The 
rich  have  ruled  us  till  they  have  ruined  us.  We  will  now 
take  our  own  affairs  into  our  own  hands.  The  Republic 
must  and  shall  be  preserved,  and  only  workingmen  will  do  it. 
Our  shoddy  aristocrats  want  an  emperor  and  a  standing  army 
to  shoot  clown  the  people.  When  we  have  10,000  members 
we  shall  have  the  sympathy  and  support  of  20,000  other 
workingmen.  The  party  will  then  wait  upon  all  who  employ 
Chinese  and  ask  for  their  discharge,  and  it  will  mark  as 
public  enemies  those  who  refuse  to  comply  with  their  request. 
This  party  will  exhaust  all  peaceable  means  of  attaining  its 
ends,  but  it  will  not  be  denied  justice  when  it  has  power  to 
enforce  it.  It  will  encourage  no  riot  or  outrage,  but  it  will 
not  volunteer  to  repress,  or  put  down,  or  arrest,  or  prosecute 
the  hungry  and  impatient  who  manifest  their  hatred  of  the 
Chinamen  by  a  crusade  against  John  or  those  who  employ 
him.  Let  those  who  raise  the  storm  by  their  selfishness  sup 
press  it  themselves.  If  they  dare  raise  the  devil,  let  them 
meet  him  face  to  face." 

Soon  began  the  memorable  sand-lot  meetings,  made  fa 
mous  by  the  San  Francisco  "Chronicle,"  which  sent  its  best 
reporters  to  describe  them.  From  his  new  eminence  the  agi- 


288  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tator  returned  this  favor  by  advising  his  hearers  to  boycott 
the  "Morning  Call77  and  subscribe  for  its  rival,  the  "Chron 
icle."  His  speeches  were  directed  partly  against  the  Chi 
nese,  but  chiefly  against  the  "thieving  politicians"  and  "blood 
sucking  capitalists."  At  one  gathering  he  suggested  that 
every  workingman  should  get  a  gun,  and  that  some  judicious 
hanging  of  aristocrats  was  needed.  The  sand-lot  audiences 
were  largely  composed  of  foreigners,  Irishmen  being  the 
most  numerous,  but  even  the  Germans  caught  the  infection. 
The  orator  could  cater  to  their  prejudices  with  effect,  as  he 
did  in  an  address  before  the  German  Club  in  March,  1878: 
"Pixley  said  to  me  that  the  narrow-faced  Yankees  in  Cali 
fornia  would  clean  us  out,  but  I  just  wish  they  would  try  it. 
I  would  drive  them  into  the  sea  or  die."  On  the  other  hand, 
in  the  Kearneyites'  Thanksgiving  day  parade,  appealing  to 
the  whole  people,  none  but  United  States  flags  were  carried, 
and  none  but  Union  veterans  carried  them.  The  leader  af 
fected  the  integrity  and  stoicism  of  a  Cato.  As  Cato  con 
cluded  every  oration  of  his  with  the  impressive  " Carthago 
delenda  est"  so  Kearney  introduced  each  of  his  harangues 
with  "The  Chinese  must  go !"  The  contest  against  the  Chi 
nese,  he  said,  would  not  be  given  up  till  there  was  blood 
enough  in  Chinatown  to  float  their  bodies  to  the  bay.  Still, 
on  one  occasion,  a  poor  Chinaman  at  the  mercy  of  hoodlums 
owed  his  rescue  to  the  Kearneyites  alone. 

Much  as  Kearney  delighted  in  scaring  the  timid  nabobs 
of  San  Francisco,  he  was  careful  to  keep  within  the  law. 
More  than  once,  while  himself  breathing  out  threatenings 
and  slaughter,  he  tactfully  restrained  his  devotees  from  ex 
cesses.  Shrewdly  estimating  the  value  of  martyrdom,  he 
once  said:  "If  I  don't  get  killed  I  will  do  more  than  any 
reformer  in  the  world.  But  I  hope  I  will  be  assassinated, 
for  the  success  of  the  movement  depends  upon  that."  The 
horns  of  this  dilemma  crossed,  but  each  pointed  in  a  hopeful 
direction.  The  leader's  yearning  for  persecution  was  grati 
fied.  On  October  29th  about  two  thousand  workingmen  col 
lected  at  >]Srob  Hill^  where  the  railway  magnates  lived.  Bon- 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  289 

fires  being  lighted,  Kearney  launched  his  philippic.  The 
"Nobs"  heard  the  jeers  at  their  expense,  and  looked  out 
upon  the  lurid  scene  in  alarm.  They  had  Kearney  and 
other  leading  spirits  arrested  on  the  charge  of  using  in 
cendiary  language.  The  city  government  passed  a  sedition 
ordinance  known  as  the  Gibbs  gag  law,  and  the  Legislature 
enacted  a  ridiculously  stringent  riot  act. 

The  two  laws  were  still-born  and  harmless.  The  only 
effect  of  the  arrests  and  of  the  new  legislation  was  to  give 
Kearney  additional  power.  On  his  release  from  jail  he  was 
hailed  as  a  martyr,  crowned  with  flowers,  and  drawn  in  tri 
umph  on  his  own  dray.  A  Yorkshire  shoemaker  and  evan 
gelist  named  Wellock — "Parson  Wellock"  he  was  called — 
preached  Kearneyism  as  a  religion.  He  was  tall,  with  a  nar 
row  head,  high  forehead,  and  a  full,  short  beard.  At  each 
Sunday  sand-lot  assembly  he  used  to  read  a  text  and  ex 
pound  its  latter-day  bearings.  Speaking  of  the  monopolists, 
he  said:  "These  men  who  are  perverting  the  ways  of  truth 
must  be  destroyed.  In  the  Bible  the  Lord  is  called  a  con 
suming  fire.  When  he  commands  we  must  obey.  What 
are  we  to  do  with  these  people  that  are  starving  our  poor 
and  degrading  our  wives,  daughters,  and  sisters?  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Moses,  'Take  all  the  heads  off  the  people  and 
hang  them  up  before  the  Lord.'  This  is  what  we  are  com 
manded  by  the  Supreme  Being  to  do  with  all  that  dare  to 
tread  down  honesty,  virtue,  and  truth." 

Both  parties  began  to  court  Kearney.  Aspirants  for 
office  secretly  visited  him.  Office-holders  changed  from  hos 
tility  to  servility.  The  railroad  kings,  if  they  failed  to 
moderate  his  language,  found  ways  to  assuage  his  hatred. 
Hirelings  of  corporate  interests  joined  the  Kearneyites  and 
assisted  them  to  carry  out  their  wishes.  Even  the  better 
classes  more  and  more  attended  his  harangues,  partly  from 
curiosity,  partly  from  sympathy,  partly  from  disgust  at  the 
old  parties.  The  enthusiastic  compared  him  with  Napoleon 
and  Caesar.  The  party  of  the  sand  lots,  Kearney  nominally 
its  president,  really  its  dictator,  spread  over  and  controlled 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.— 13. 


290  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

the  State.  This  result  assured,  "reform"  needed  only  that 
a  new  State  Constitution  should  be  adopted,  properly  safe 
guarding  the  people  against  monopolies  and  the  Chinese. 
Agitation  for  a  Constitutional  Convention  was  at  once  be 
gun  and  pushed  till  successful. 

The  very  immensity  of  the  new  party's  growth  begot 
reaction.  The  monopolists  intensely  hated  Kearney  at  the 
very  moment  when  they  most  sought  to  use  him.  His  chief 
strength  lay  in  the  city  populace.  The  Grangers  sympathized 
and  in  many  measures  co-operated  with  him,  yet  maintained 
a  becoming  independence.  In  the  city,  too,  there  was  a 
rival  labor  organization,  set  on  foot  at  that  first  mass-meeting 
held  to  express  sympathy  for  the  Pittsburg  strikers.  Though 
Kearney's  braggadocio  "took"  wonderfully  with  the  people, 
this  body  let  slip  no  chance  for  denouncing  the  man's  ex 
treme  notions  and  assumption.  Numerous  and  active  ene 
mies  were  made  by  Kearney's  inability  to  brook  aught  of 
opposition  or  rivalry.  By  a  motion  of  his  hand  he  swept 
out  of  existence  the  Central  Committee  of  his  party.  He 
liked  best  his  most  fulsome  eulogists,  and  selected  lieuten 
ants  whom  he  could  fling  aside  the  instant  they  hampered 
or  crossed  him.  Many  so  treated  beset  him  afterward  like 
fleas.  The  Order  of  Caucasians,  a  species  of  anti-Mongolian 
Ku-Klux,  with  headquarters  at  Sacramento,  was  opposed  to 
Kearney.  Many  men  of  influence  and  apparent  impartiality, 
notably  Archbishop  Alemany,  criticised  his  incendiary 
speeches,  alienating  some  of  his  supporters. 

Democrats  now  felt  that  by  "united  action"  the  Consti 
tutional  Convention  which  the  Kearneyites  had  succeeded  in 
getting  called  might  be  saved  from  their  control.  Accord 
ingly  a  non-partisan  ticket  was  started,  which,  notwithstand 
ing  some  grumbling  from  the  old  "wheel-horses"  of  the  two 
parties,  received  pretty  hearty  support.  Despite  all,  by  co 
alescing  with  the  Grangers,  the  Kearneyites  controlled  the 
convention.  The  new  California  Constitution  which  re 
sulted  was  an  odd  mixture  of  ignorance  and  good  inten 
tions.  To  hinder  corruption  in  public  office  it  reduced 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  291 

the  power  of  the  Legislature  almost  to  a  shadow,  and  made 
the  bribery  of  a  legislator  felony.  To  lighten  taxation, 
particularly  where  it  bore  unduly  upon  the  poor,  the 
Constitution  set  a  limit  to  State  and  local  debts,  taxed  un 
cultivated  land  equally  with  cultivated  land,  made  mort 
gage  debts  taxable  where  the  mortgaged  property  lay,  and 
authorized  an  income  tax.  However,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
school  fund,  a  poll  tax  was  laid  on  every  male  inhabitant. 
Corporations  were  dealt  with  in  a  special  article,  which  re 
stricted  them  in  many  ways.  Among  other  things  it  insti 
tuted  a  commission  with  extraordinary  powers,  enabling  it 
to  examine  the  books  and  accounts  of  transportation  com 
panies  and  to  fix  their  rates  for  carriage.  This  commission, 
when  placed  in  the  hands  of  any  party,  uniformly  violated 
pre-election  pledges,  and  proceeded  against  the  unanimous 
wish  of  Calif ornians.  Only  the  Commission  of  1895  seemed 
to  have  taken  some  steps  toward  lowering  freight  rates. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  a  more  powerful 
reaction  set  in  and  Kearney  ism  soon  became  a  thing  of  the 
past.  The  "Chronicle"  abandoned  Kearney  and  "exposed" 
him.  He  was  called  to  the  East  in  the  interest  of  labor 
agitation,  but  had  little  popularity  or  success.  He  returned 
to  San  Francisco,  but  never  again  became  a  leader.  The 
most  pronounced  result,  or  sequel,  which  the  Kearney  move 
ment  left  behind  was  a  fixed  public  opinion  throughout  Cali 
fornia  and  all  the  Pacific  States  against  any  further  im 
migration  of  the  Chinese.  The  new  California  Constitution 
devoted  to  these  people  an  entire  article.  In  it  they  were 
cut  off  from  employment  by  the  State  or  by  corporations 
doing  business  therein.  "Asiatic  coolieism"  was  prohibited 
as  a  form  of  human  slavery.  This  sentiment  toward  the 
Celestials  spread  eastward,  and,  in  spite  of  all  opposition 
by  interested  capitalists  and  by  disinterested  philanthropists, 
determined  the  subsequent  course  of  Chinese  legislation  in 
Congress  itself. 

During  the  years  under  survey  Missouri  as  well  as  the 
Pacific  States  had  to  contend  with  aggravated  lawlessness. 


292  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

When  hardly  a  week  passed  without  a  train  being  "held  up" 
somewhere  in  the  State,  Governor  Crittenden  was  driven  to 
the  terrible  expedient  of  using  crime  itself  as  a  police  power. 
In  the  spring  of  1882,  Jesse  James,  the  noted  desperado,  was 
assassinated  by  former  members  of  his  gang,  who  then  sur 
rendered  to  the  authorities  and  were  lodged  in  jail — none 
too  soon,  as  an  angry  populace,  gathering  in  thousands,  hotly 
beset  the  slayers.  Slayers  and  slain  had  been  Confederate 
guerillas  in  the  war.  On  the  return  of  peace  they  became 
train-robbers  as  easily  as  privateers  turn  pirates.  James,  at 
any  rate,  had  not  been  inspired  by  lust  of  gain,  for  in  spite 
of  robberies  amounting  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars 
he  died  poor.  He  had  been  a  church  member,  concerned 
for  "his  wayward  brother"  Frank's  salvation.  After  his 
death  his  sect  in  Missouri  repudiated  him,  while  expressing 
strongest  disapproval  of  the  treachery  used  in  his  taking  off. 
For  nearly  twenty  years  every  effort  to  capture  the  fellow 
had  proved  futile.  The  nature  of  the  country  aided  him,  but 
not  so  much  as  the  enthusiastic  devotion  of  his  neighbors. 

This  murderous  chief,  this  ruthless  man, 
This  head  of  a  rebellious  clan, 

had  made  himself  a  hero.  The  Sedalia  "Democrat"  said: 
"It  was  his  country.  The  graves  of  his  kindred  were  there. 
He  refused  to  be  banished  from  his  birthright,  and  when  he 
was  hunted  he  turned  savagely  about  and  hunted  his  hunt 
ers.  Would  to  God  he  were  alive  to-day  to  make  a  righteous 
butchery  of  a  few  more  of  them." 

By  thus  fighting  fire  with  fire,  Governor  Crittenden  suc 
ceeded  in  dispersing  three  other  desperado  bands.  Upon 
being  arraigned  the  men-killers  pleaded  guilty  and  were  sen 
tenced  to  be  hanged,  but  they  were  at  once  pardoned.  The 
Governor's  policy,  however,  was  most  unpopular.  Infinite 
hate  and  scorn  were  visited  upon  the  betrayers.  James's 
wife  and  mother  cursed  them  bitterly;  Dick  Little,  chief 
traitor,  being  the  object  of  their  uttermost  loathing.  "If 
Timberlake  or  Craig  (the  county  sheriff  and  his  deputy)  had 
killed  my  poor  boy,"  cried  the  mother,  "I  would  not  say 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  293 

one  word;  but,  O  God!  the  treachery  of  Dick  Little  and 
those  boys !  Craig  and  Timberlake  are  noble  men,  and  they 
have  done  too  much  for  me.  My  poor  boy  who  now  lies 
there  dead  told  me  if  they  killed  him  not  to  say  one  word.77 
Craig  and  Timberlake  were  pall-bearers  at  James's  funeral. 
The  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad  extended  courtesies  to 
the  bereaved  widow  and  mother,  who  were  on  all  hands 
treated  as  the  heroines  of  the  hour. 

Close  after  President  Garfield's  funeral  followed  an 
event  which  for  some  days  attracted  the  world's  attention 
— the  centennial  celebration  of  Cornwallis's  surrender  at 
Yorktown,  Va.  The  hamlet  of  Yorktown  was  seated  on  a 
sandy  river-bank  among  the  vestiges  of  the  two  sieges  it 
had  sustained,  that  of  1781  and  that  of  1861,  the  Confed 
erate  works  thrown  up  in  the  last-named  year  not  having 
completely  erased  the  defences  erected  by  Cornwallis.  The 
Confederate  fortifications  were  to  be  seen  in  1881,  as  also 
some  of  McClellan's  approaches.  The  site  of  Washington's 
headquarters,  still  known  as  "Washington's  Lodge,"  was 
pointed  out  two  and  a  half  miles  back  from  the  river.  The 
buildings  were  burned  during  the  Civil  War,  but  the  house 
had  been  rebuilt.  The  old  ISTelson  House,  gray,  ivy-grown, 
massive,  was  standing;  also  the  West  House,  built  by  Gover 
nor  Xelson  for  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Major  West,  midway  be 
tween  the  Nelson  House  and  the  Monument;  while  a  mile 
away  was  the  Moore  House,  Cornwallis's  quarters  at  the 
time  of  his  surrender.  Its  exterior  was  tricked  out  with  red, 
yellow,  and  green  paint  effects  which,  inside,  aesthetic  wall 
paper  and  fine  carpets  strove  to  match. 

The  Moore  House  was,  in  a  very  true  sense,  the  central 
spot  of  American  History.  It  was  historic  sixty  years  before 
the  Revolution,  when  it  was  Governor  Spotswood's  resi 
dence.  In  the  "Temple,"  near  by,  was  presented  the  relic 
of  a  still  older  strife,  the  tomb  of  Major  William  Gooch, 
who  died  in  1655.  In  the  chimney  of  the  Moore  House 
was  a  cannon-ball  hole,  and  in  one  of  its  corner  rooms  was 


294  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

still  preserved  the  table  whereon  the  articles  of  Cornwallis's 
surrender  had  been  drawn.  Its  roof  sheltered  Lafayette  and 
Rochambeau ;  also  Washington  in  the  proudest  moment  of 
his  life.  It  was  in  1896  the  residence  of  Mr.  A.  O.  Mauck. 
Standing  in  the  midst  of  Temple  Farm,  it  commanded  a 
beautiful  view  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  of  Yorktown  Monument, 
and  of  quaint  old  Yorktown.  Near  by  was  a  mill,  built  on 
the  very  foundations  of  the  one  where  was  fired  the  first 
shot  in  the  Cornwallis  siege.  A  shaft  fifteen  feet  high,  made 
of  brick  taken  from  the  first  court-house  in  York  County, 
laid  in  German  cement,  has  been  erected  by  the  Superin 
tendent  of  the  National  Cemetery  on  the  spot  where  Corn- 
wallis's  sword  was  delivered  to  General  Lincoln.  This  shaft 
was  dedicated  on  October  19,  1895,  and  placed  in  the  care 
of  the  school  children  of  our  country  to  preserve. 

Once  redeemed  from  the  British  and  once  from  Confed 
erate  rule,  Yorktown  was  now,  for  a  few  days,  rescued  from 
its  own  loneliness.  There  was  some  complaint  that  locality 
was  not  ignored  and  the  anniversary  celebrated  where  mod 
ern  conveniences  were  at  hand.  Such  were  the  dust  and  heat 
at  and  about  the  village  on  the  first  day  of  the  fete  that  pil 
grims  admired  Cornwallis's  good  sense  in  surrendering  as 
quickly  as  decency  allowed,  that  he  might  go  elsewhere.  The 
second  day  was  twenty  degrees  colder,  and  dusters  gave  way 
to  ulsters.  Truly  vast  preparations  had  been  originally 
planned,  but  so  obvious  were  the  discomforts  which  could 
not  but  attend  a  long  sojourn  at  the  place,  that  the  pro 
gramme  was  radically  docked.  The  events  that  were  left, 
however,  amply  repaid  for  their  trouble  all  who  saw  them. 

Arrangements  had  been  making  at  Yorktown  for  a 
month,  during  which  time  the  sandbanks  all  about  were  in  a 
stir,  such  as  neither  Cornwallis's  nor  Magruder's  cannon- 
wheels  had  occasioned.  When  the  day  marking  the  anni 
versary  of  the  Briton's  surrender  arrived,  a  score  of  great 
warships,  with  other  craft  of  various  sorts,  lined  the  river  up 
and  down,  while  shanties  and  tents  covered  the  landscape 


DOMESTIC   EVENTS.  295 

in  all  directions.  "Wagons,  buggies,  and  carriages  by  hun 
dreds  came  and  went,  frequent  among  them  the  two-wheeled 
family  vehicle  of  the  Virginia  negro,  attached  by  a  rope 
harness  to  a  scrawny  "scalawag."  Strains  of  martial  music, 
the  thunder  of  heavy  guns,  throngs  of  civilians  and  of  sol 
diers,  thieves  and  gamblers  plying  their  art  unmolested  till 
a  welcome  detachment  of  Richmond  police  arrived — all  con 
spired  to  waken  the  little  place  from  the  dead.  To  the 
credit  of  the  Post-Office  Department,  no  hitch  occurred  when 
mails  multiplied  from  three  a  week  to  two  a  day,  and  the 
daily  delivery  of  letters  mounted  from  fifty  to  five  thousand. 

The  celebration  began  on  October  18th,  "Surrender 
Day."  Troops  had  been  pouring  in  all  night  and  the  influx 
increased  at  dawn.  Some  had  marched  far  and  swiftly. 
Captain  Sinclair's  battery  of  the  Third  Artillery  had  covered 
the  distance  from  Fort  Hamilton,  Xew  York  Harbor,  to 
Yorktown,  470  miles,  in  twenty-one  marching  days.  At  ten 
o'clock  the  "Tallapoosa,"  bearing  the  President  and  most 
of  his  Cabinet,  came  up  the  river,  being  saluted  as  she 
passed  the  batteries.  At  this  notice  "the  yards  of  the  ships 
of  war  were  manned" — the  account  read  quaintly  after  the 
lapse  of  but  twenty  years.  For  ten  minutes  smoke-clouds 
covered  the  river  and  the  boom  of  ponderous  cannon  quenched 
all  other  sounds.  Behind  the  "Tallapoosa"  were  vessels  bring 
ing  the  Secretary  of  the  !N"avy,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and 
General  Sherman.  Distinguished  foreign  guests  came,  too, 
descendants  of  de  Grasse,  de  Rochambeau,  de  Lafayette, 
and  von  Steuben,  the  heroes  who  had  shared  with  Washing 
ton  the  glory  of  humbling  England's  pride  a  hundred  years 
before.  Each  dignitary  being  saluted  according  to  his  rank, 
the  deafening  cannonade  was  kept  up  for  a  number  of  hours. 

Wednesday,  October  19th,  was  devoted  to  the  ceremony 
of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the  Yorktown  Centennial  Monu 
ment.  Commemorative  exercises  formed  the  feature  of 
Thursday.  President  Arthur  delivered  an  address,  the  Mar 
quis  de  Rochambeau  responded  in  French,  and  Baron  von 
Steuben  in  German,  all  three  being  loudly  applauded.  Hon. 


296  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Robert  C.  "Winthrop  pronounced  the  oration  of  the  day. 
The  presence  of  Steuben  and  Rochambeau,  of  Generals  Sher 
man  and  Wade  Hampton,  of  Hancock,  the  favorite  and  hero 
of  the  festival,  and  Fitzhugh  Lee,  hardly  second  to  him  in 
receipt  of  applause,  naturally  suggested  the  themes  of  con 
cord  and  reunion.  Among  those  who  shook  hands  with 
President  Arthur  was  the  widow  of  President  John  Tyler. 
At  the  conclusion  of  these  exercises  all  the  troops  passed  in 
review  before  the  President.  It  was  the  most  brilliant  mili 
tary  pageant  seen  since  the  war.  Northern  visitors  noticed 
with  pleasure  that  many  of  the  Southern  commands  wore 
uniforms  of  blue.  On  Thursday  evening  fireworks  were 
displayed.  All  the  war  vessels  were  illuminated.  The  steam 
corvette  "Vandalia,"  commanded  by  Captain  (subsequently 
Rear-Admiral)  Meade,  so  disposed  her  lights  as  to  bring 
out  the  outlines  of  her  hull  and  rigging  with  charming 
effect.  The  splendor  was  produced  by  the  use  of  Chinese 
lanterns,  which  Captain  Meade  purchased  for  the  occasion. 
The  celebration  ended  on  Friday  with  a  naval  review,  em 
bracing  all  the  men-of-wrar  in  the  harbor.  A  graceful  and 
handsome  deed,  acknowledged  by  the  British  press,  was  the 
salute  paid  by  the  entire  fleet  to  the  Union  Jack  hoisted  at 
the  foremast  of  each  vessel. 

Freshets  in  February,  1884,  had  induced  an  unprece 
dented  rise  in  the  Ohio  River,  submerging  country  and  city 
along  the  banks.  At  Cincinnati  houses  were  wrecked,  lives 
lost,  destitution  and  suffering  the  lot  of  thousands.  To  add 
to  the  horrors,  the  gas-works  were  under  water,  and  night 
whelmed  the  city  in  Cimmerian  darkness.  As  the  news 
spread,  practical  responses  came  from  all  quarters,  in  the 
shape  of  food  and  clothing,  which  steamers  distributed  up 
and  down  the  swollen  stream.  Highest  water  was  reached 
on  February  14th,  the  highest  ever  recorded,  the  river  at 
Cincinnati  standing  on  that  date  at  seventy-one  feet  and 
three-quarters  of  an  inch. 

Riot  followed  flood.  In  March  two  confessed  murderers 
had  come  off  with  a  conviction  for  mere  manslaughter.  As 


DOMESTIC   EVENTS.  297 

twenty  other  murderers  were  in  prison,  respectable  citizens 
assembled  to  demand  reform  in  murder  trials,  I^oisy  leaders 
of  the  mob  element  tried  to  capture  the  meeting,  which  waa 
adjourned  to  prevent  mischief.  A  young  man  rushing  out 
shouted,  "To  the  jail!  Come  on!  Follow  me  and  hang 
Berner."  The  door  was  burst  open,  but  Berner  had  been 
smuggled  to  Columbus  at  the  first  alarm.  Meantime  the 
militia  were  secretly  introduced  through  the  same  tunnel 
which  afforded  him  exit.  After  a  skirmish  the  rioters  were 
driven  out,  leaving  some  of  their  number  prisoners.  Partly 
from  chagrin,  partly  to  secure  the  release  of  the  captured 
leaders,  and  partly  to  indulge  their  lawless  humor,  the  hood 
lums  set  the  court-house  on  fire,  robbing  an  armory  and  two 
gun-stores  to  provide  themselves  arms.  Other  shops  were 
broken  into  and  sacked.  They  fired  volley  after  volley  of 
musketry  at  the  militia,  and  fiercely  attacked  barricades 
which  these  had  erected  against  them.  After  repeated  warn 
ings  retaliation  was  meted  out  with  terrible  effect.  The  dis 
orders  continued  six  days,  when  the  law  was  so  far  vindicated 
that  business  could  be  resumed.  The  most  authentic  list  put 
the  killed  in  this  riot  at  forty-five,  the  wounded  at  one 
hundred  and  thirty-eight. 


298  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTEE    XIV. 

MONROE'S  DOCTRINE   AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE. 

Uncle  Sam  in  Africa — The  Brussels  Conference  of  1876 — Congress 
of  1877 — The  United  States  Represented — Henry  M.  Stanley— 
His  Career — His  Fame — Darkest  Africa — The  Congo  Free  State 
—The  United  States  Helps  in  its  Formation — Scramble  for  "a 
Piece  of  Africa" — Arthur's  Policy  Criticised — Berlin  Conference 
of  1884  —  Its  Objects  —  Its  Results  —  De  Lesseps  at  Panama — 
Origin  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty — Its  Provisions — Its  Resur 
rection  in  1880 — President  Hayes's  Attitude — Elaine's  Contro 
versy  with  Lord  Granville — Frelinghuysen's  Contentions — Great 
Britain's  Position — Blaine  Criticised  at  Home — De  Lesseps's  Fail 
ure  at  Panama — Early  Plans  for  Piercing  the  Isthmus — The  Nic 
aragua  Canal  Scheme  —  Joys  and  Troubles  in  Nicaragua — 
Congressmen  Favor  United  States  Aid  for  the  Enterprise 
—Description  of  the  Proposed  Canal  —  Difficulties  and  Cost- 
Feasibility  and  Profitableness  —  Opposition  —  Growing  Intimacy 
between  the  United  States  and  Spanish  America — The  Commis 
sion  of  1884 — Panama  Congress  of  1825— John  Quincy  Adams 
and  Clay — Later  Efforts  at  a  Pan- American  Union — Trepidation 
at  Walker's  Filibustering  Expeditions  —  Union  Movements  in 
1864,  1877,  1880,  1.881,  and  1888 — David  Davis  Proposes  a  Cen 
tral  and  South  American  Railway — Frelinghuysen's  Suggestions 
—The  Congress  of  1889-90— Scope  of  its  Possible  Deliberations— 
The  Delegates'  "Junket"  Across  the  Continent — Difficulties  and 
Misunderstandings — The  Reciprocity  Idea — Outcome  Meagre. 

J.N  1884  occurred  an  event  presaging  a  change  in  the 
time-honored  foreign  policy  of  the  United  States.  Our 
diplomatic  representatives  took  leading  part  in  the  Berlin 
Conference  of  that  year,  a  conference  which  dealt  with  impor 
tant  questions  touching  the  Dark  Continent, 

In  September,  1876,  Leopold  II,  King  of  the  Belgians, 
had  convened  at  his  palace  a  conferenece  of  African  travel 
ers,  to  discuss  the  best  means  of  opening  equatorial  Africa. 
Half  a  year  later  a  Congress  was  convoked  at  the  same  place, 
where  appeared  delegates  from  Austria,  Belgium,  France, 
Germany,  the  Netherlands,  Spain,  Switzerland,  and  the 
United  States.  A  committee  of  three,  headed  by  the  King, 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       299 

and  including  General  Henry  S.  Sanford,  of  Florida,  repre 
senting  the  English-speaking  races,  recommended  the  forma 
tion  of  an  International  African  Association,  to  found  "hos 
pitable  and  scientific"  stations  in  Africa  under  the  associa 
tion's  own  flag.  A  chain  of  such  stations  was  formed  from 
Zanzibar  to  Lake  Tanganyika. 

The  royal  enterprise  was  advertised  to  the  world  mainly 
by  the  labors  of  Henry  M.  Stanley.  Born  in  1841,  near 
Denbigh,  Wales,  where  he  was  known  as  John  Rowlands, 
from  three  years  of  age  to  thirteen  the  lad  lived  and  was 
schooled  inside  St.  Asaph  Poorhouse.  He  later  ascribed  all 
his  success  to  the  education  here  received.  When  sixteen  he 
shipped  for  New  Orleans,  where  he  found  a  foster-father 
in  a  trader  named  Stanley,  whose  name  he  assumed  and  hence 
forth  bore.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  his  energy 
took  a  military  turn,  and  the  man  who  was  later  reverenced 
by  the  Congo  blacks  as  "Father  and  Mother  of  the  Country," 
enlisted  on  the  pro-slavery  side.  He  was  taken  prisoner, 
escaped  at  night  by  swimming  a  river  amid  a  storm  of  bul 
lets,  and  made  for  Wales,  but  not  to  stay.  Returning,  he 
enlisted  once  more,  this  time  in  the  Federal  navy,  acting 
presently  as  ensign  on  the  flagship  Ticonderoga.  Peace  re 
stored,  the  path  of  a  newspaper  correspondent  in  wrild  and 
distant  lands  attracted  the  bold  fellow;  and  we  find  him  by 
turns  in  Spain,  Turkey,  and  Syria. 

Stanley's  fame  was  not  sealed,  however,  till  James  Gor 
don  Bennett,  of  the  New  York  "Herald,"  despatched  him  to 
the  Dark  Continent  to  "find  Livingstone."  More  explicit 
directions  would  have  been  impossible  at  the  time,  as  well  as 
needless  and  insufferable  for  Stanley.  The  new  explorer 
found  the  old  one,  who  refused  to  return  to  civilization  before 
completing  his  explorations.  Livingstone  died  in  Africa,  his 
work  still  incomplete,  but  it  was  taken  up  and  astonishingly 
supplemented  by  his  strong  successor.  The  Queen  sent  Stan 
ley  a  gold  snuff-box  set  with  diamonds.  France  decorated 
him  with  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  Bismarck  en 
tertained  him.  Leopold  II  treated  him  as  if  he  had  been 


300  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

a  prince  of  the  blood.  The  poorhouse  boy  became  the  most 
famous  man  on  earth. 

After  Stanley  had  discovered  the  Upper  Congo,  in  1877, 
"The  Comite  dfEtudes  of  the  Upper  Congo/'  a  branch,  or 
perhaps  a  partner,  of  the  International  African  Association, 
devoted  its  labors  to  that  region.  In  1884,  General  Sanford 
wrote :  "This  work  lias  developed  into  extraordinary  propor 
tions,  and  has  had  for  practical  result  the  opening  up  to  civ 
ilizing  influence  and  to  the  world's  traffic  this  vast,  popu 
lous,  and  fertile  region,  securing  certain  destruction  to  the 
slave  trade  wherever  its  flag  floats."  The  flag — blue,  with  a 
golden  star  in  the  centre — was  as  yet  unrecognized.  The 
United  States,  so  prominent  in  the  inception  of  the  enter 
prise,  was  the  first  to  recognize  it.  In  his  annual  message 
for  1883,  President  Arthur  called  attention  to  the  work  of 
the  association,  "of  which  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  was 
the  chief  executive  officer."  "Large  tracts  of  territory,"  he 
said,  "have  been"  ceded  to  the  association  by  native  chiefs, 
roads  have  been  opened,  steamboats  placed  on  the  river,  and 
the  nuclei  of  States  established  at  twenty-two  stations  under 
the  flag,  which  offers  freedom  to  commerce  and  prohibits  the 
slave  trade.  .  .  .  The  United  States  can  not  be  indifferent 
to  this  work  nor  to  the  interest  of  their  citizens  involved  in  it. 
It  may  become  advisable  for  us  to  co-operate  with  other  com 
mercial  powers  in  promoting  the  rights  of  trade  and  resi 
dence  in  the  Congo  valley,  free  from  the  interference  or  po 
litical  control  of  any  one  nation." 

The  succeeding  April  the  Secretary  of  State  found  him 
self  authorized  to  proclaim  "that  in  accordance  with  the 
traditional  policy  of  the  United  States,  which  enjoins  their 
careful  attention  to  the  commercial  interests  of  American 
citizens,  avoiding  at  the  same  time  all  interference  in  the 
controversies  engaged  in  between  other  powers  or  the  con 
clusion  of  alliances  with  foreign  nations,  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  declared  its  sympathy  with  and  appro 
bation  of  the  humane  and  noble  object  of  the  International 
Association  of  the  Congo,  acting  in  the  interest  of  the  Free 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       301 

State  established  in  that  region,  and  commanded  all  officers 
of  the  United  States,  either  on  land  or  sea,  to  recognize  the 
flag  of  the  International  Association  as  that  of  a  friendly 
Government." 

This  step  was  much  criticised  abroad.  The  scramble  for 
"a  piece  of  Africa"  had  begun,  and  the  association,  which, 
unrecognized,  might  be  a  cat's  paw,  once  recognized  became 
a  rival.  France  and  Portugal,  each  of  whom  had  her  claim 
(one  very  ancient,  the  other  just  laid,  but  both  much  cackled 
about)  to  lands  occupied  by  the  association,,  were  especially 
nettled.  A  French  paper  petulantly  dubbed  Uncle  Sam  the 
new  State's  "godfather."  Had  the  claims  mentioned  been 
fully  conceded,  the  new  State  would  have  been  left  without 
sea-coast.  The  adjustment  gave  to  the  new-flag  nation  a 
coast  frontage  of  from  thirty  to  forty  miles  north  from  the 
Congo  estuary,  as  well  as  a  vast  empire  of  back  country. 
The  guarded  recognition  by  the  United  States  at  this  junc 
ture  was,  as  Stanley  said,  "the  birth  unto  new  life  of  the 
association,  seriously  menaced  as  its  existence  was  by  oppos 
ing  interests  and  ambitions."  More  vital  ends  than  these 
touching  the  African  continent  waited  to  be  attained,  ap 
pealing  to  "the  commercial  interests  of  American  citizens," 
and  to  their  "sympathy"  and  "approbation."  Besides,  Amer 
icans  had  founded  Liberia,  American  missionaries  were  not 
few  in  Africa,  a  wealthy  American  journalist  had  furnished 
the  means  for  rescuing  Dr.  Livingstone  and  a  famous  Amer 
ican  explorer  performed  the  task.  All  these  facts  aroused 
public  interest  here  and  led  to  our  participation  in  the  Berlin 
Conference. 

This  step  was  as  fiercely  criticized  at  home  as  our  recog 
nition  of  the  blue  flag  had  been  abroad.  The  timid  shrieked 
appeal  to  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  Our  commercial  interests 
in  Africa,  it  was  said,  were  small,  even  in  posse.  Consid 
ered  as  disinterested,  the  action  was  denounced  as  meddling, 
We  should  regret  it,  critics  said,  when  the  Nicaragua  contro 
versy  reached  an  acute  phase.  The  correspondent  of  the 
London  "News"  considered  the  conspicuous  part  taken  by 


302  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

our  delegates  in  the  conference  an  intimation  that  this  coun 
try  was  henceforth  to  be  more  active  in  foreign  affairs. 

The  Conference  assembled  in  November,  1884.  It  was 
formally  opened  by  Prince  Bismarck,  who  stated  its  main 
objects  to  be :  1.  To  secure  free  navigation  and  trade  on  the 
River  Congo.  2.  To  secure  free  navigation  of  the  River 
Niger.  3.  To  determine  the  formalities  to  be  in  future  ob 
served  for  the  valid  annexation  of  territory  on  the  African 
continent.  The  neutralization  of  the  Congo  and  Niger,  an 
American  proposition  put  forward  by  our  delegate,  Mr.  Kas- 
son,  was  attained  in  part,  but  not  perfectly,  owing  to  the 
opposition  of  France.  The  treaty  powers  promised,  in  case 
of  war  by  or  against  a  possessor  of  Congo  land,  to  lend  their 
good  offices  to  induce  both  belligerents  to  keep  hands  off 
from  the  free  trade  belt,  which  included  much  French  and 
Portuguese  as  well  as  other  territory.  In  the  event  of  dis 
agreement  touching  the  free  trade  belt,  the  powers  under 
took  to  resort  to  mediation  before  appealing  to  arms,  and 
reserved  the  option  of  proceeding  by  arbitration.  The  mo 
tion  to  restrict  the  sale  of  liquor  in  the  Congo  basin,  though 
introduced  by  Italy,  was  also  of  American  origin.  It  was 
bitterly  assailed  by  Germany  and  Holland,  but  was  partly 
realized  afterward  when  measures  were  adopted  to  prevent 
the  introduction  of  liquor  into  tracts  yet  uninfected,  or  where 
the  Mohammedan  religion  forbade  its  use.  The  United 
States,  with  England,  joined  the  enlightened  King  of  the 
Belgians  in  securing  provisions  for  the  preservation  and 
amelioration  of  native  races,  the  suppression  of  slavery  and 
the  slave-trade,  and  the  encouragement  of  all  religious,  scien 
tific,  and  charitable  enterprises,  with  perfect  religious  lib 
erty  for  white  and  black.  Arrangements  were  made  to  in 
clude  the  neutralized  strip  in  the  Postal  Union. 

Mr.  N.  P.  Tisdell,  appointed  by  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment  to  report  upon  its  advantages  for  American  trade, 
was  unfavorably  impressed  with  the  country  and  the  char 
acter  of  the  natives.  Yet  subsequent  events  justified  Stan 
ley's  assertion  that  the  course  of  the  United  States  toward 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       303 

the  new  sovereignty  was  awell  worthy  of  the  great  Republic." 
The  aborigines  no  longer  dreaded  the  merciless  Arab  slave- 
raider,  for  his  power  was  broken.  Cannibals  who,  in  1877, 
assailed  Stanley  with  flights  of  poisoned  arrows  soon  en 
listed  in  the  little  standing  army  of  the  Free  State.  The 
sale  of  liquor,  arms,  and  gunpowder  was  restricted.  Com 
merce  more  than  doubled  the  proportions  it  had  when  the 
Conference  rose.  A  railroad  around  Livingstone  Falls  was 
begun  and  part  of  it  speedily  in  operation.  It  is  to  be  said 
that  rumors,  for  the  time  impossible  either  to  verify  or  to 
refute,  reached  the  press,  of  outrages  upon  natives  at  the 
hands  of  Belgian  officials,  grosser  than  those  which  Burke 
imputed  to  Warren  Hastings. 

While  the  Congo  episode  was  broadening  American  ideas 
of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  events  in  Central  America  led  to  the 
emphatic  reassertion  of  that  doctrine.  M.  de  Lesseps's  ill- 
starred  attempt  to  ditch  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  was'  begun 
in  1881.  The  prospect  of  its  success  raised  anew  questions 
of  neutrality  and  control  over  land  or  water  routes  joining 
the  oceans.  During  President  Taylor's  Administration  the 
United  States  had  requested  Great  Britain  to  withdraw  her 
pretensions  to  the  Mosquito  Coast,  that  Nicaragua  and  our 
selves  might  join  to  construct  a  canal  from  there  to  the  Pa 
cific.  Great  Britain  declined,  but  signified  her  consent  to  a 
treaty  admitting  her  to  a  share  in  the  protection  of  the  pro 
posed  canal.  The  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  resulted,  having 
in  view,  so  far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned,  the  en 
couragement  of  a  canal  enterprise  under  the  so-called  "Hise" 
grant  made  us  by  Nicaragua.  The  treaty  declared  that 
neither  Government  should  "ever  obtain  or  maintain  for  it 
self  any  exclusive  control  over  the  said  ship-canal,"  or  "occu 
py,  or  fortify,  or  colonize,  or  assume,  or  exercise  any  domin 
ion  over  Nicaragua,  Costa  Rica,  the  Mosquito  Coast,  or  any 
part  of  Central  America,"  the  last  provision,  however,  not 
to  apply  to  the  British  settlement  at  Belize.  The  Govern 
ments  further  agreed  to  "facilitate  the  construction  of  the 
said  canal  by  every  means  in  their  power,"  to  protect  it  and 


304  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  guarantee  its  neutrality.  The  eighth  article  of  the  treaty 
extended  the  agreement  to  any  other  practicable  communica 
tions,  whether  by  canal  or  railway,  across  the  isthmus. 

The  projected  canal  was  never  begun,  and  interest  in  the 
subject  subsided  until  after  the  American  Civil  War.  It 
was  revived  by  the  attempt  of  France  to  join  us,  perhaps 
with  other  nations,  in  guaranteeing  the  neutrality  of  the  new 
isthmus  route  which  de  Lesseps  was  designing.  On  March 
8,  1880,  in  a  special  message,  President  Hayes  said:  "The 
United  States  can  not  consent  to  the  surrender  of  control 
(over  an  inter-oceanic  canal)  to  any  European  power  or  to 
any  combination  of  European  powers."  Hayes  evidently 
assumed  that  the  British  guarantee  mentioned  in  the  Clay- 
ton-Bulwer  Treaty  had  relation  solely  to  the  schemes  in  mind 
at  that  date.  He  continued :  "An  inter-oceanic  canal  across 
the  American  isthmus  will  be  a  great  ocean  thoroughfare 
between  our  Atlantic  and  our  Pacific  shores,  and  virtually  a 
part  of  the  coast  line  of  the  United  States.  ~No  other  great 
power  would  under  similar  circumstances  fail  to  assert  a 
rightful  control  over  a  work  so  closely  and  vitally  affecting 
its  interests  and  welfare."  Before  the  close  of  the  Hayes 
Administration,  a  treaty  permitting  such  control  was  negoti 
ated  with  Colombia,  but  that  Republic,  owing  to  Erench  in 
fluence  or  finding  the  treaty  distasteful,  declined  to  ratify  it. 

Secretary  Blaine,  under  Garfield,  maintained  the  same 
position  which  his  predecessor  had  assumed.  The  United 
States,  having  guaranteed  the  neutrality  of  any  route  which 
might  be  opened  across  the  isthmus,  would  brook  no  partici 
pation  of  European  nations  in  this  office.  The  London  press 
cried  out  at  the  danger  of  intrusting  the  neutrality  of  one 
of  the  greatest  commercial  routes  in  the  world  to  a  single 
very  strong  power  and  a  single  very  weak  one.  The  Ameri 
can  statesmen  in  time  to  come  could  say :  "The  Governments 
of  the  two  Republics  are  alone  parties  to  the  treaty.  What 
they  have  made  they  can  tear  up.  The  neutrality  of  the 
canal  is  for  the  time  suspended."  Mr.  Blaine  proposed  cer 
tain  modifications  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  made,  as 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE,       305 

it  was,  under  extraordinary  and  exceptional  conditions,  and 
operating,  as  it  would  in  case  of  war,  to  place  the  canal 
in  the  hands  of  England's  navy.  He  said:  "As  England 
insists,  by  the  might  of  her  power,  that  her  enemies  in  war 
shall  strike  her  Indian  possessions  only  by  doubling  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  so  the  United  States  will  equally  insist 
that  the  canal  shall  be  reserved  for  ourselves,  while  our 
enemies,  if  we  shall  ever  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  any, 
shall  be  remanded  to  the  voyage  around  Cape  Horn." 

In  declining  Elaine's  proposition  to  modify  the  treaty, 
Lord  Granville  pointed  out  the  great  interest  of  his  country 
and  of  the  whole  civilized  world  in  an  unobstructed  passage 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  He  painted  "the  melan 
choly  spectacle"  of  "competition  among  the  nations  in  the 
construction  of  fortifications  to  obtain  the  command  over  the 
canal  and  its  approaches,"  a  consequence  apprehended  (in 
other  words  threatened)  by  Her  Majesty's  Government, 
should  the  United  States  persist  in  demanding  supreme  au 
thority  over  the  canal. 

Under  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  President  Arthur's  Secretary 
of  State,  the  controversy  assumed  a  tenor  more  legal  and  less 
journalistic.  The  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  Frelinghuysen 
thought  certainly  voidable  at  our  option.  It  had  applied 
only  to  inter-oceanic  ways  definitely  contemplated  or  in  pros 
pect  in  1850,  especially  to  a  canal  under  the  grant  of  1849 
from  ISTicaragua,  a  grant  which  the  United  States,  "poor  in 
money  and  floating  capital,"  was  unable  by  herself  to  make 
effective.  In  consideration  of  the  speedy  construction  of 
the  canal  and  of  Great  Britain's  withdrawal  from  adjoining 
soil,  our  Government  had  "consented  to  waive  the  exclusive 
and  valuable  rights  which  had  been  given  to  them,  consented 
to  agree  with  Great  Britain  that  they  would  not  occupy, 
fortify,  colonize,  or  assume  dominion  over  any  part  of  Cen 
tral  America,  and  consented  to  admit  Her  Majesty's  Govern 
ment  at  some  future  day  to  a  share  in  the  protection  which 
they  have  exercised  over  the  Isthmus  of  Panama."  But, 
through  Great  Britain's  fault  alone,  the  proposed  canal  had 


306  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

never  been  constructed,  while  the  tolerated  mahogany-cutting 
settlement  at  Belize  had  been,  in  contravention  of  the  treaty, 
erected  into  a  veritable  colony. 

Under  an  international  guarantee  of  neutrality,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen  argued,  a  canal  across  the  isthmus  "would  affect 
this  Eepublic  in  its  trade  and  commerce ;  expose  our  western 
coast  to  attack;  destroy  our  isolation;  oblige  us  to  improve 
our  defences  and  increase  our  navy;  and  possibly  compel  us, 
contrary  to  our  traditions,  to  take  an  active  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  European  nations."  On  the  other  hand,  the  politi 
cal  interest  of  this  country  as  sole  guarantor  would  not  nec 
essarily  conflict  with  the  material  interests  of  other  nations, 
to  whose  free  use  the  canal  would  still  be  open.  Interna 
tional  agreements  of  the  kind  proposed  by  Lord  Granville 
our  Secretary  declared  in  peace  useless,  in  times  of  dissen 
sion  unenforceable. 

The  discussion  was,  for  the  time,  closed  at  the  end  of 
1882,  when  the  British  Secretary  announced  England's  con 
clusions  as  follows:  "The  meaning  and  effect  of  Article 
VIII"  (as  widening  the  scope  of  the  treaty  and  establish 
ing  a  general  principle)  "are  not  open  to  any  doubt;  the 
British  Government  has  committed  no  act  in  relation  to 
British  Honduras  or  otherwise  which  can  invalidate  that 
treaty  and  justify  the  United  States  in  denouncing  it;  and 
no  necessity  exists  for  removing  any  of  the  provisions  of 
that  treaty." 

Many  pronounced  our  opening  of  this  question  unwise, 
a  foolish  manifestation  of  a  "jingo"  policy.  Mr.  Blame's 
spirited  manner  in  the  discussion  was  particularly  repre 
hended.  The  criticism  was  unjust.  The  imbroglio  was  not 
of  Mr.  Elaine's  creation,  but  came  to  him  with  the  State 
portfolio  from  Secretary  Evarts,  upon  whom  it  had  been 
thrust  by  the  action  of  Colombia,  incited  by  Erance.  Mr. 
Blaine's  despatches  upon  the  subject,  perhaps  less  able  than 
those  of  Evarts  or  those  of  Erelinghuysen,  and  almost  danger 
ously  bold  in  tone,  yet  took  the  only  ground  which  a  patri 
otic  American  Secretary  of  State  could  have  assumed.  Had 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       307 

Mr.  Elaine  been  as  reckless  as  many  thought  him,  he  would 
have  moved  to  denounce  the  treaty  forthwith  and  risk  the 
consequences ;  but  the  time  had  not  come  for  that. 

Though  international  control  in  the  isthmus  made  no 
headway,  capital  for  Panama  was  lavishly  provided,  not  by 
rich  Frenchmen,  but  by  the  middle  classes,  who  would  have 
grudged  their  savings  had  not  the  enterprise  been  for  the 
glory  of  France.  The  French  press  grew  more  and  more 
sanguine.  Little  by  little,  reluctantly  acknowledging  the 
task  greater  than  expected,  M.  de  Lesseps  kept  calling  for 
new  support,  and  at  some  rate  or  other  kept  getting  it.  He 
continued  to  color  the  Panama  horizon  a  roseate  hue,  but  it 
was  sunset  and  not  sunrise.  At  the  end  of  1888  night  fell 
upon  the  hopes  of  his  dupes,  while  day  broke  upon  their 
senses.  Panama  was  fatally  malarial;  the  cost  of  excava 
tion  was  greater  than  supposed;  the  total  amount  of  it  not 
far  from  twice  as  large.  The  great  cut  through  Culebra 
Pass  was  said  to  have  unsettled  the  very  mountain  and  to 
have  caused  it  to  tilt  toward  the  canal.  A  dam  more  than  a 
mile  long  to  restrain  the  Chagres  in  flood  time  was  started, 
but  abandoned.  Gross  mismanagement  marked  every  turn. 
Interest  was  paid  out  of  capital  stock.  Locomotives  ordered 
from  Belgium  were  of  the  wrong  gauge  and  could  be  seen 
rusting  by  the  railway  tracks.  Worst  was  the  unparalleled 
corruption  resorted  to  by  the  desperate  directors  to  keep  the 
facts  from  publicity,  endeavors  which  utterly  failed.  The 
populace  of  Paris  were  furious  at  the  cumulative  revelations. 
Over  a  hundred  members  of  the  national  Legislature  were 
smirched,  five  ex-ministers  being  among  those  arrested.  The 
chief  culprits,  including  M.  de  Lesseps  himself,  were  given 
heavy  sentences;  the  rest  wrere  acquitted.  In  Panama  they 
knew  little  of  all  this,  but  still  lamented  the  departure  of 
"canal  times,"  as  they  contemplated  the  gash  which  not 
quite  cut  their  isthmus. 

So  early  as  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  a  Portu 
guese  navigator  projected  four  possible  routes  for  an  inter- 
oceanic  canal  on  the  Western  Hemisphere,  at  Darien,  Panama, 


308  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Nicaragua,  and  Tehuantepec.  In  1779,  Lord  Nelson  seized 
the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  as  preliminary  to  the  control  of 
the  waterway.  In  1823,  the  President  of  Nicaragua  in 
vited  the  attention  of  the  United  States  to  the  possibilities 
of  this  route,  and  renewed  negotiations  led,  in  1849,  to  the 
formation  of  a  company  in  this  interest,  in  which  Commo 
dore  Vanderbilt  was  a  stockholder.  The  doings  of  filibuster 
Walker  put  an  end  to  that  plan.  Several  surveys  made  after 
the  war  indicated  that,  should  a  lock  canal  be  contemplated, 
the  Nicaragua  route  was  better  than  any  other.  Preferring 
a  tide-water  enterprise  like  the  Suez  Canal,  however,  the  en 
thusiast  de  Lesseps  pursued  the  Panama  chimera.  The 
failure  of  any  tide-water  scheme  being  probable,  the  Nica 
ragua  proposal  reappeared  as  a  rival  to  the  Panama  project. 

Treaty  arrangements  initiated  in  1884  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Nicaraguan  Republic  looking  toward 
an  inter-oceanic  canal,  failed  of  consummation,  as  President 
Cleveland,  taking  office  in  1885,  and  dissenting  from  the 
opinion  of  his  predecessor,  feared  that  such  a  scheme  would 
lead  to  more  embarrassments  than  benefits.  In  1887,  Nic 
aragua  and  Costa  Rica  granted  to  a  private  association  of 
United  States  citizens  the  right,  for  themselves  or  their  as 
signs,  to  build  a  trans-Nicaraguan  canal.  In  1889,  "The 
Maritime  Canal  Company  of  Nicaragua"  succeeded  to  these 
rights,  agreeing  to  expend  $2,000,000  the  first  year  and  to 
complete  the  canal  by  1900,  though  it,  in  fact,  went  little 
further  than  to  make  preliminary  surveys  and  estimates. 

In  1891,  a  construction  company,  of  which  Hon.  Warner 
Miller,  of  New  York,  was  president,  undertook  the  building 
operations.  In  the  same  year  an  attempt  was  made,  with 
out  success,  to  get  the  United  States  to  guarantee  $100,000,- 
000  of  the  company's  bonds.  "Canal  times"  in  Nicaragua 
made  the  little  republic  tingle  with  speculative  fever.  The 
Government  reveled  in  extravagance  and  waste,  but  was  in 
the  midst  of  its  debaucheries  cut  off  by  a  revolution,  or 
rather  by  a  complicated  series  of  domestic  and  foreign 
troubles,  that  for  the  time  smothered  peaceful  enterprise. 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       309 

In  1896,  a  commission  of  experts  appointed  by  our  Govern 
ment  made  a  report  discouraging  to  the  hopes  of  the  promot 
ers,  spite  of  which  the  bill  for  lending  the  Government  credit- 
to  the  enterprise  mustered  numerous  and  influential  support 
ers  in  both  Houses  of  our  Congress. 

At  the  Caribbean  port  a  breakwater  was  to  be  built  and 
the  harbor  deepened.  The  length  of  the  proposed  route  was 
about  170  miles.  For  121.1  miles  ships  were  to  pass 
through  the  lake  and  through  rivers,  for  21.5  through 
dammed  basins,  for  27  through  channels  excavated  at  the 
eastern  and  western  divides.  From  Greytown  westward  to 
the  foot-hills  a  sea-level  canal  9.25  miles  long  was  to  be 
maintained.  Thence  three  locks  about  650  feet  long  and 
65  feet  wide  would  advance  the  vessel  a  mile  or  two  and 
raise  it  106  feet.  Three  to  five  miles  beyond,  the  eastern 
divide  loomed  up,  requiring  amputation,  the  average  depth 
to  be  141  feet,  the  length  2.9  miles.  Here  the  San  Fran 
cisco  and  Machado  were  to  carry  the  vessel  12  miles,  enter 
ing  the  San  Juan  above  a  huge  dam.  This  river  leads  to 
Lake  Nicaragua,  64.5  miles  further  on,  through  which  the 
ship's  path  would  extend  for  a  distance  of  56.5  miles.  The 
levels  here  were  to  be  raised  four  feet.  The  western  divide 
must  be  channeled  for  11.2  miles;  beyond  for  5.5  miles  a 
basin  would  be  formed  by  penning  the  water  in  natural  val 
leys.  The  descent  thence  to  tide-water  was  meant  to  be 
accomplished  by  three  locks,  the  last  a  tidal  lock  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  ocean.  Finally,  a  harbor  must  be  made  on 
the  Pacific.  The  minimum  depth  of  the  canal  was  to  be  30 
feet ;  the  width  sufficient,  except  at  the  divides,  for  two  ships 
to  pass  each  other. 

No  one  doubted  that  the  cost  of  construction  must  be 
large,  perhaps  exceeding  careful  estimates.  Twenty-seven 
miles,  or  10,000,000  cubic  yards,  of  excavation  were  re 
quired,  also  21.5  miles  of  basins,  constructed  by  means  of 
enormous  dams.  A  shoal  fourteen  miles  long  on  the  east  of 
Nicaragua  Lake  would  have  to  be  dredged  and  kept  clear. 
Geologists  said  that  basaltic  lavas  predominated  underneath 


310  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

this  as  well  as  under  the  Panama  route.  Dams  were  re 
quired  to  cross  the  San  Juan  and  the  Tola,  each  nearly  2,000 
feet  long  by  70  high,  and  one  3.25  miles  long  and  60  feet 
high  to  cross  the  San  Carlos. 

That,  after  all,  a  canal  upon  this  route  could  be  created 
and  operated  seemed  beyond  question.  That  it  would  be 
politically  valuable  and  its  operation  profitable  from  a  busi 
ness  point  of  view  also  appeared  quite  clear.  In  an  address 
to  the  public  the  Canal  Company  said:  "The  nation  that 
controls  this  canal  under  terms  of  amity  with  Nicaragua  will 
here  find  rest  and  refreshment  for  its  fleets  and  a  point  d'ap- 
pui  from  which  either  ocean  may  readily  be  reached  in  case 
of  need." 

According  to  the  "Statesman's  Year  Book,"  the  Panama 
Eailroad  had,  in  1885,  £17,000,000  worth  of  traffic.  The 
Canal  Company  estimated  the  cargoes,  which,  had  it  been 
in  existence,  would  have  sought  their  canal,  at  2,071,886 
tons  in  1879,  at  4,507,044  in  1887,  and  at  7,616,904  in 
1895.  Reviewing  the  above  figures,  Mr.  G.  E.  Church,  who 
found  the  actual  traffic  of  the  Suez  Canal  to  be  but  52  per 
cent  of  the  possible,  calculated  the  probable,  as  distinguished 
from  the  possible,  number  of  ships  which  would  have  used 
the  Nicaragua  Canal,  and  thought  -that,  in  1880,  it  would 
have  borne  1,625,000  tons  of  freight,  valued  at  £32,136,000. 
Crediting  the  Nicaragua  Canal  with  every  vessel  that  might  by 
its  means  have  made  a  saving  of  distance,  2,818  ships  would, 
in  1880,  have  passed  through  it,  carrying  2,938,386  tons  of 
cargo.  According  to  an  article  in  the  "Saturday  Review" 
of  March  16,  1895,  the  probable  yearly  traffic  had  been  esti 
mated  as  high  as  8,122,093  tons,  but  the  writer  himself 
deemed  3,500,000  tons  a  more  likely  figure. 

Notwithstanding  its  political  importance  and  its  great 
financial  promise,  the  undertaking  progressed  but  slowly. 
Against  it  was  on  all  occasions  manifested  in  Congress  and 
in  the  press  the  opposition  of  the  transcontinental  railways. 
The  necessity  of  increasing  the  navy,  should  the  canal  be 
built  and  placed  under  our  guaranty  of  neutrality,  was  also 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       311 

powerfully  urged.  Possible,  or,  as  was  alleged,  certain 
complications  with  foreign  powers  formed  a  giant  objection 
with  many.  A  few,  perhaps,  gave  a  pro-British  interpre 
tation  to  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty. 

Discussion  upon  the  great  canal  scheme  was  by  no  means 
the  sole  indication  that  our  relations  with  our  southern  neigh 
bors  tended  to  grow  closer.  In  1884  Congress  provided  for, 
and  the  President  appointed,  a  commission  of  three  to  "ascer 
tain  the  best  modes  of  securing  more  intimate  international 
and  commercial  relations  between  the  United  States  and  the 
several  countries  of  Central  and  South  America."  After 
conferring  with  leading  merchants  and  manufacturers  in  this 
country,  and  making  an  extensive  tour  of  Latin  America, 
the  Commissioners  in  1884-85  recommended  an  international 
American  conference  to  promote  commercial  intercourse  and 
to  prepare  some  plan  of  arbitration  for  controversies  between 
the  states  of  the  American  continents. 

The  idea  of  such  a  congress  was  not  new.  Bolivar  con 
ceived  it  before  1820.  The  threatening  Holy  Alliance,  or 
"Holy  League,"  as  John  Quincy  Adams  called  it,  caused  the 
young  Spanish- American  republics  in  1826  to  huddle  to 
gether  in  a  congress  at  Panama.  President  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  Clay,  his  Secretary  of  State,  wished  our  Govern 
ment  to  be  represented  there;  but  delays  by  the  slave-power, 
morbidly  sensitive  in  dealing  with  countries  which  had  eman 
cipated  their  slaves  so  early  as  1813,  made  the  Administra 
tion's  efforts  abortive.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  reciprocity, 
as  it  is  now  called,  was  one  of  the  subjects  which  President 
Adams  suggested  for  discussion  at  this  Panama  convocation. 
That  congress  came  to  nothing.  Vain,  also,  were  Mexico's 
sedulous  efforts  in  1831,  1838,  1839,  and  1840  to  create  a 
congress  of  Spanish  America.  When  in  1847  Mexico's  fears 
of  North  American  aggression  were  realized,  Bolivia,  Chile, 
Equador,  'New  Granada,  and  Peru  met  in  Lima,  allowing 
other  American  republics  to  join  them,  and  going  so  far  as 
to  invite  the  United  States.  In  1856,  again,  Walker's  fili 
bustering  frightened  Peru,  Chile,  and  Equador  into  sign- 


812  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ing  a  treaty  of  confederation  and  endeavoring  to  get  other 
adherents,  while  anxious  conferences  were  held  among  Span 
ish-American  ministers  in  Washington.  In  1862  Costa  Rica, 
communicating  with  Colombia,  doubtless  voiced  the  prevalent 
South  American  impression  "that  the  cessation  of  the  Yan- 
dalic  filibustering  expedition  of  1855  and  of  the  following 
ones  till  1860  was  due  to  intervention,  although  tardily  car 
ried  into  effect,  on  the  part  of  Europe."  This  was  a  curious 
commentary  on  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  The  despatch  added: 
"If  our  republics  could  have  the  guaranty  that  they  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  the  United  States  of  North  America,  it 
is  indubitable  that  no  other  nation  could  be  more  useful  and 
favorable  to  us.  Under  the  shelter  of  her  powerful  eagles, 
under  the  influence  of  her  wise  institutions,  and  under  the 
spur  of  her  astonishing  progress  our  newly  born  nationali 
ties  would  receive  the  impulse  which  they  now  need,  and 
would  be  permitted  to  march  with  firm  step,  without  expe 
riencing  the  troubles  and  difficulties  with  wliich  they  have 
had  to  struggle.  ...  A  new  compact  might  be  drafted  by 
which  the  United  States  of  North  America  should  bind  them 
selves  solemnly  to  respect  and  cause  others  to  respect  the 
independence,  sovereignty,  and  territorial  integrity  of  the 
sister  republics  of  this  continent;  not  to  annex  to  their  terri 
tory,  either  by  purchase  or  by  any  other  means,  any  part  of 
the  territory  of  the  said  republics;  not  to  allow  filibustering 
expeditions  to  be  fitted  up  against  the  said  nations,  or  to  per 
mit  the  rights  of  the  latter  to  be  in  any  way  abridged  or  ig 
nored.  Besting  upon  a  treaty  of  this  kind,  our  republics 
would  admit  ...  the  idea  of  an  intimate  alliance  with  the 
North  American  people." 

In  1864  Peru  bade  the  Spanish  nations  to  another  con 
ference,  the  United  States  not  being  invited  because,  as  Peru 
alleged,  "their  policy  was  adverse  to  all  kinds  of  alliances, 
and  because  the  natural  preponderance  which  a  first-class 
power,  as  they  are,  has  to  exercise  in  the  deliberations  might 
embarrass  the  action  of  the  congress."  In  1880  a  congress 
proposed  for  the  next  year  to  secure  the  adoption  of  arbitra- 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       313 

tion  on  this  hemisphere,  was  prevented  by  the  breaking  out 
of  war  between  Chile  and  Peru  and  Bolivia,  Mexico,  also, 
about  the  same  time,  having  trouble  with  Guatemala.  A 
similar  proposition  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  in  1881, 
for  November,  1882,  came  to  naught,  owing  to  the  continu 
ance  of  the  same  hostilities.  In  187 7  and  in  1888  occurred 
congresses  of  Spanish- American  jurists  to  amend  the  interna 
tional  law  of  the  South  American  Continent. 

In  1880  there  began  in  the  United  States  a  series  of  steps 
which  in  course  of  time  led  to  the  Pan-American  Conference 
of  1889  and  1890.  In  1880  Senator  David  Davis  projected 
the  preliminaries  for  an  immense  international  line  of  rail 
roads  running  at  the  foot  of  the  great  mountain  chain  through 
Mexico,  Central  America,  and  South  America,  with  branches 
to  the  main  Pacific  seaports.  Bills  of  the  same  tenor  were 
subsequently  introduced  by  Senators  Morgan,  Sherman,  and 
others.  There  were  also  propositions  for  special  commis 
sioners  to  visit  Central  and  South  America.  At  the  first 
session  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress  a  joint  resolution  was 
introduced  requesting  the  President  to  invite  the  co-operation 
of  American  Governments  in  securing  the  establishment  of 
an  American  customs-union. 

Instead  of  immediate  steps  toward  an  international  con 
ference  to  promote  commerce  and  peace,  which  were  contem 
plated  byx  Congress,  Secretary  Frelinghuysen  recommended 
a  commission  to  visit  Central  and  South  America,  suggested 
a  series  of  reciprocity  treaties  as  the  natural  mode  of  devel 
oping  our  commerce  with  Latin  America,  and  intimated  that 
"it  would  be  advantageous  and  probably  practicable  to  agree 
upon  a  common  silver  coin  equal  in  value,  say,  to  our  gold 
dollar,  or  to  some  other  appropriate  standard,  which,  under 
proper  regulations  as  to  coinage,  etc.,  should  be  current  in  all 
the  countries  of  this  continent."  Renewed  efforts  in  these 
various  directions  resulted  in  adopting  the  recommendation 
of  the  Commission,  and  a  conference  was  invited.  The  act 
authorizing  it  permitted  in  it  the  discussion  of  measures  (1) 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  several  states,  (2)  for  an  American 
U.  S,  VOL.  8.— 14. 


Si-i  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

customs-union,  (3)  for  regular  and  frequent  communication, 
(4)  for  a  uniform  system  of  customs  regulations,  (5)  for 
a  uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures,  patents,  copy 
rights,  trade-marks,  and  extradition,  (6)  for  the  adoption  of 
a  common  silver  coin,  and  (7)  for  arbitration.  The  pro- 
gramme  also  allowed  some  canvass  of  miscellaneous  subjects. 

Before  the  organization  of  the  Conference,  the  delegates, 
starting  on  October  3,  1889,  were  carried  by  rail  on  a  trip 
nearly  6,000  miles  long,  visiting  forty-one  cities,  from  Boston 
to  St.  Louis  and  back,  and  inspecting  the  principal  iron  and 
steel  manufactories  of  Pennsylvania.  Elaborate  receptions 
were  accorded  them  everywhere.  In  two  great  factory  towns 
they  were  greeted  by  brass  bands  made  up  from  among  the 
operatives.  At  one  place  a  natural-gas  well  was  fired  for 
their  edification,  and  its  hues  made  to  change  by  the  ingenious 
injection  of  chemicals.  This  well-meant  entertainment,  be 
sides  being — such  is  the  Spanish-American  temperament — a 
hardship  to  the  delegates,  seemed  to  some  of  them  a  piece 
of  ostentatious  braggadocio,  precisely  the  assumption  of  su 
periority  by  the  United  States  which  they  had  come  prepared 
to  find.  Early  in  the  progress,  Senor  Quintana,  of  the  Ar 
gentine  delegation,  disengaged  himself  from  the  other  gentle 
men  and  returned  to  Washington. 

A  variety  of  circumstances  helped  ruffle  the  serenity  of 
the  proceedings.  The  difference  between  our  Spanish-Ameri 
can  guests  and  ourselves,  in  language,  in  blood,  and  in  ideas 
of  etiquette,  caused  misunderstandings.  An  interpreter  was 
required,  as  only  one  of  the  United  States  delegates,  Mr. 
Mint,  spoke  Spanish,  and  only  one  other,  Mr.  Trescot,  read 
it,  while  several  Latin- American  members  did  not  know  En 
glish.  The  contrast  between  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  Span 
ish  procedure  usual  in  such  assemblages  was  vast,  occasioning 
unpleasant  feelings  which  could  be  reconciled  only  by  yield 
ing  to  the  South  American  preference.  Keciprocity  was 
among  the  aims  of  the  Congress.  Argentina  suggested  reci 
procity  in  1875  and  again  at  this  Conference.  But  a  United 
States  reciprocity  treaty  with  Mexico  had  fallen  through  in 


MONROE'S  DOCTRINE  AND  ARTHUR'S  PRACTICE.       315 

1883,  which  led  delegates  to  doubt  whether  the  United  States 
earnestly  desired  reciprocity.  This  distrust  was  unfortu 
nately  increased  by  the  McKinley  Tariff  Bill,  then  in  its 
earlier  stages,  before  its  excellent  reciprocity  provisions  had 
been  attached. 

Lack  of  harmony  was  not  wholly  due  to  jealousy  or  fear 
of  the  United  States.  Chile  wished  the  Conference  confined 
to  commercial  and  economic  instead  of  political  questions. 
Because  of  an  unratified  reciprocity  treaty  with  her,  Santo 
Domingo  declined  to  send  delegates.  Hawaii,  invited  late, 
could  not  accept  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations. 
Among  the  states  represented  the  smaller  were,  as  a  rule, 
more  effusive  than  the  larger  in  responding  to  the  invitation. 
The  guest-states,  too,  had  their  mutual  jealousies.  Guate 
mala  was  distrustful  of  Mexico.  Bolivia  and  Peru  tended  to 
favor  Argentina,  as  against  victorious  Chile.  The  five  Cen 
tral  American  States  were  at  odds  over  the  terms  of  a  sug 
gested  alliance  among  themselves,  while  Xicaragua  and  Costa 
Rica  had  the  proposed  canal  for  an  additional  bone  of  con 
tention. 

Though  not  a  delegate,  Secretary  Blaine  was  elected  presi 
dent  of  the  Conference.  He  had  desired  the  earlier  confer 
ence,  proposed  for  1882,  to  confine  its  attention  to  the  subject 
of  arbitration,  and  he  was  particularly  emphatic  now  in  urg 
ing  the  same.  Chile  did  not  favor  the  idea ;  Mexico  and  Ar 
gentina  only  in  a  restricted  sphere.  A  formal  treaty  was 
signed  by  most  of  the  delegates,  but  it  came  to  nothing.  The 
most  permanent  concrete  result  of  the  Conference  was  the 
Bureau  of  American  Republics,  maintained  at "  "Washing 
ton,  to  disseminate  information  regarding  the  Latin-race 
countries  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


316  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"FARTHEST  NORTH." 

The  Jeannette  Expedition — Its  Officers — Its  Plan — The  Start — Sus 
pense  and  Search — Rumors — Tidings  at  Last — Course  and  Fate 
of  the  Expedition — Melville  Finds  Nindeman  and  Noros — De- 
Long's  End — His  Journal — New  Polar  Research — The  Greely 
Expedition — The  Proteus's  Passage  Out — The  Neptune's  Effort 
at  Relief — The  Garlington  Cruise  in  1883 — Wreck  of  the  Proteus 
— Greely  Meantime — Expedition  of  1884 — Schley's  Enterprise — 
"News  from  Greely" — His  Discoveries — "Farthest  North" — Ex 
periences  of  His  Band  in  the  Arctic  Regions  —  Their  Course 
Southward — Could  Any  of  Them  be  Alive? — The  Thetis  to  the 
Rescue — Seven  Starving  Survivors — Life  at  Starvation  Camp — 
Efforts  for  the  English  Meat — Rice's  Death  and  Frederick's  Hero 
ism — The  Death  Roll — Rescue  of  the  Seven — Their  Condition 
— Homeward  Bound — Arrival — No  Official  Praise — The  Surviv 
ors  Subsequently  —  Peary  on  Greenland's  Icy  Mountains  —  He 
Crosses  Greenland  in  1892 — Geographical  Discoveries — Peary's 
1894-95  Tour — Value  of  These  Explorations. 

Do  the  classic  virtues  grace  an  age  of  commonplace? 

The  cynics  of  our  time  will  tell  you  No. 
To  the  ancients  they  will  turn  heroic  deeds  to  learn, 

But,  take  a  soldier's  word,  it  is  not  so. 

THAT  the  cynics  are  wrong  was  impressively  shown  by 
Stanley's  deed  in  darkest  Africa,  touched  in  the  last  chap 
ter  of  this  History.  Two  other  exploits  more  thrilling  still 
illustrated  President  Arthur's  years  in  office.  The  first  was 
the  Jeannette  expedition  to  the  North,  equipped  by  James 
Gordon  Bennett,  Stanley's  patron,  but  sailing  under  orders 
from  the  Navy  Department,  This  expedition  went  forth  in 
the  summer  of  1879,  but  its  glory  and  its  fate  were  not  known 
till  more  than  two  years  later.  The  vessel,  of  some  four  hun 
dred  tons  burden,  was  strongly  reinforced  to  prevent  her  being 
crushed  in  the  ice.  The  crew  as  ultimately  constituted  com 
prised  thirty-three  men,  including  two  Chinamen  and  two 
Indians.  The  officers  were  Captain  George  W.  DeLong, 


"FARTHEST   NORTH."  317 

II.  S.  N.,  commanding;  Lieutenant  Charles  W.  Chipp,  IT.  S. 
N".,  Second  Officer;  Master  John  W.  Danenhower,  U.  S.  'N., 
Executive  Officer;  Passed  Assistant  Engineer  George  W. 
Melville,  U.  S.  ~N.,  an  officer  reluctantly  spared  by  the  depart 
ment,  and  Passed  Assistant  Surgeon  James  M.  Ambler, 
U.  S.  ~N.  William  Dunbar,  an  experienced  Yankee  whaler, 
was  ice  pilot,  Jerome  J.  Collins  meteorologist  and  "Herald" 
correspondent,  and  Raymond  L.  Newcomb  naturalist.  The 
last  three,  as  a  matter  of  form,  enlisted  as  seamen. 

It  was  DeLong's  design  to  follow  the  warm  ocean  current 
through  Bering  Strait,  possibly  to  the  Pole,  at  least  to 
Wrangel  Land,  which  was  set  down  on  the  maps  as  an  enor 
mous  continent  reaching  to  the  Pole  and  possibly  connecting 
with  Greenland.  The  thought  was  that  the  expedition  could 
crawl  along  this  coast  far  to  the  north,  and,  when  finally 
stopped  by  sea,  could  with  sledges  make  a  triumphant  dasli 
for  the  Pole. 

Watched  and  cheered  by  crowds  on  shore  and  attended 
by  a  squadron  of  pleasure  craft,  the  Jeannette,  on  July  8, 
1879,  slowly  and  proudly  steamed  toward  the  Golden  Gate 
of  California,  beyond  which  the  sparkling  waves  of  the  Pa 
cific  seemed  to  be  beckoning.  "Every  ship  we  passed,"  wrote 
DeLong,  "dipped  her  colors  to  us,  while  shouts,  steam-whis 
tles,  and  yachts'  cannon-shots  kept  the  air  filled  with  noise. 
Upon  passing  Fort  Point  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  was 
fired  in  our  honor,  while  the  garrison  of  the  fort  cheered 
us  enthusiastically."  !N"o  wonder  that  officers  and  men  were 
in  jubilant  spirits. 

At  Ounalaska  on  August  2d  a  quantity  of  furs  was  taken 
aboard.  At  Lutke  Harbor,  on  August  27th,  last  messages 
were  sent  home  as  the  Jeannette  parted  from  the  Fannie  A. 
Hyde,,  her  convoy  and  coal-tender.  On  September  3d  an  ad 
venturous  whaler  saw  her  afar,  nosing  her  way  toward  Herald 
Island.  Next  year  the  revenue  cutter  Corw-in,  Captain 
Hooper  commanding,  approached  Herald  Island  and  Wrangel 
Land,  but  saw  no  traces  of  the  explorers.  In  1881  anxiety 
grew  keener.  Lieutenant  Berry,  of  the  Rogers,  following  the 


318  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Jeannette' s  route,  scrutinized  the  coast  of  Wrangel  Land. 
Captain  Hooper  also  made  a  landing  there.  Neither  ob 
tained  tidings  of  the  lost  ship.  The  Alliance,  from  Norfolk, 
sailing  by  the  Spitzbergen  route,  was  not  more  successful. 
Two  new  polar  expeditions,  one  of  which,  that  under  Lieu 
tenant  A.  W.  Greely,  will  presently  be  described,  were,  inci 
dentally  to  their  main  purpose,  cautioned  to  look  out  for  the 
missing  men.  Foreign  exploring  ships  assumed  a  like  charge. 
Although  the  marble  ocean  kept  her  secret  well,  rumors  were 
at  everybody's  service.  A  steamer's  smoke,  forsooth,  had 
been  seen  off  the  Lena  Delta ;  white  shipwrecked  sailors  were 
struggling  up  the  Mackenzie  Kiver  in  North  America ;  Euro 
pean  corpses  had  been  found  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei.  It 
was  conjectured  that  DeLong  had  indeed  reached  the  Pole. 
The  canard  was  also  started  that  Siberians  had  boarded  the 
Jeannetle  and  found  everybody  well,  very  much  surprised  at 
being  the  objects  of  such  solicitude. 

Amid  these  wild  pitches  of  fancy,  the  truth,  more  start 
ling  than  any  of  them,  was  conveyed  to  the  world  on  Decem 
ber  20,  1881,  by  the  following  telegram  from  the  American 
Charge  d' 'Affaires  at  St.  Petersburg  to  the  American  Secre 
tary  of  State: 

"The  Jeannette  was  crushed  in  the  ice  June  llth,  latitude 
77  degrees,  longitude  157  degrees.  Crew  embarked  in  three 
boats  and  were  separated  by  the  wind  and  fog.  Number 
three,  with  eleven  men,  Engineer  Melville  commanding, 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  September  19th.  Subse 
quently  Number  one,  with  Captain  DeLong,  Dr.  Ambler, 
and  twelve  men,  reached  the  Lena  in  a  pitiable  condition 
and  prompt  assistance  was  sent.  Number  two  has  not  been 
heard  from." 

"Number  two  has  not  been  heard  from"  to  this  day.  The 
masterful  seamanship  which  saved  even  a  part  of  the  crew 
from  death  elicited  admiration  the  world  over.  The  London 
"Standard"  said:  "Though  the  Jeannette  has  suffered  de 
struction,  the  Americans  have  added  glory  to  that  they  have 
already  won  in  the  frozen  regions."  Captain  DeLong's  first 


"FARTHEST  NORTH."  319 

alternative,  of  following  the  Japan  current  possibly  to  the 
Pole,  was  balked  by  the  ice-pack  which  he  entered  shortly 
after  he  was  last  sighted,  and  on  September  6th,  the  next  day, 
he  found  himself  glued  in.  The  second  alternative,  of  drift 
ing  to  Wrangel  Land  and  following  that  continent  to  the 
Pole,  was  seen  to  be  impossible  when,  to  the  men's  dismay 
as  they  drew  near,  it  shriveled  to  an  insignificant  island. 
From  the  time  she  entered  the  pack  the  Jeannette  was  unfet 
tered  for  only  a  few  hours.  Nearly  two  years  later,  June  11, 
1881,  she  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  she  sank  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  12th.  With  a  heavy  sick  list  and  otherwise 
encumbered,  the  company  in  three  squads  toiled  over  the  ice, 
struggling  to  get  southward. 

At  the  end  of  a  fortnight  they  found  themselves  further 
north  than  when  they  started,  indeed,  further  north  than 
living  man  had  ever  before  gone  in  that  sea.  The  position 
was  77°  36'  N.,  155°  E.  To  the  weary  mariners  either  land 
or  sea  was  more  welcome  than  the  ice,  and  about  the  middle 
of  July  land  loomed  into  view.  It  was  an  island.  Two  days 
later  they  took  possession  of  it  for  the  United  States  and 
christened  it  Bennett  Island.  Here  it  was  possible  for  them, 
on  August  6th,  to  take  to  the  three  boats,  the  first  cutter  with 
Captain  DeLong  and  his  little  crew  of  men,  the  second  cut 
ter  with  Lieutenant  Chipp  and  his  men,  and  the  whaleboat 
with  Engineer'  Melville  and  his  men.  On  August  19th  the 
three  wretched  companies,  over  ice  and  water,  barefooted 
and  barelegged,  reached  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  to  which 
they  clung  till  September  10th,  when  they  were  within  ninety 
miles  of  Cape  Barkin,  and  happy  in  the  thought.  About 
seven  o'clock  that  night  there  was  an  arctic  gale,  and  the 
boats  were  blown  apart  like  tufts  of  thistledown.  As  the 
whaleboat,  the  fastest  of  the  three,  went  racing  down  the 
wind,  members  ©f  her  crew,  looking  back,  dimly  saw  the  sec 
ond  cutter  rise  to  the  crest  of  a  billow,  sink,  rise  again,  then, 
enveloped  in  an  immense  sea,  sink  to  be  seen  no  more.  De- 
Long's  crew  at  the  same  time  lost  sight  of  the  whaleboat,  and 
thought  that  she  shared  the  same  fate.  Melville,  in  like  man- 


320  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ner,  when  he  himself  landed  at  one  of  the  eastern  mouths  of 
the  Lena  Delta,  could  hardly  hope  that  any  of  the  DeLong 
party  had  escaped  the  sea.  A  few  days  later  his  own  squad 
reached  a  Russian  settlement.  On  receiving  news  that  there 
were  DeLong  survivors,  Melville  hastened  to  Belun,  where 
he  found  two  seamen  of  the  DeLong  crew,  ISTindeman  and 
Xoros,  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  They  had  been  sent  ahead 
for  relief,  and,  as  it  chanced,  were  the  only  ones  of  the  party 
who  survived.  "Hallo,  Noros !"  was  Melville's  cheery  greet 
ing,  as  he  pushed  his  way  into  their  sorry  hovel,  "how  do  you 
do  ?"  "My  God !  Mr.  Melville,"  exclaimed  Noros,  "are  you 
alive?"  Rising  from  a  rude  couch,  Nindeman  said:  "We 
thought  you  were  all  dead,  and  that  we  were  the  only  two  left 
alive ;  we  were  sure  the  whaleboat's  men  were  dead,  and  the 
second  cutter's,  too." 

Pressing  northward,  with  only  native  guides,  in  spite  of 
badly  frozen  feet  and  legs,  and  in  imminent  risk  of  starva 
tion  on  the  way,  the  intrepid  Melville  sought  the  trail  of  De- 
Long's  unfortunate  party,  but  it  was  not  till  the  next  March 
that  he  was  able  to  get  traces  of  them.  All  hope  of  finding 
them  alive  had  then  vanished.  On  the  23d  of  March,  amply 
provided  with  the  means  for  his  search,  the  Chief  Engineer 
finally  discovered  the  bodies  of  Captain  DeLong  and  his  gal 
lant  comrades-in-death.  They  were  lying  on  an  island  in  the 
Lena  Delta,  which  had  cruelly  enmeshed  them  the  autumn  be 
fore.  Perhaps  the  saddest  feature  of  their  tragedy  was  the 
fact  that  they  perished  within  ten  miles  of  succor.  It  was 
decided  not  to  move  the  remains  to  America,  but  to  bury 
them  at  the  Delta  on  a  high  promontory  out  of  reach  of  the 
floods.  "There,"  said  Melville,  "in  sight  of  the  spot  where 
they  fell,  the  scene  of  their  suffering  and  heroic  endeavor, 
where  the  everlasting  snows  would  be  their  winding-sheet  and 
the  fierce  polar  blasts  which  pierced  their  poor  unclad  bodies 
in  life  would  wail  their  wild  dirge  through  all  time — there 
we  buried  them,  and  surely  heroes  never  found  fitter  resting- 
place." 

The  journal  kept  by  DeLong,  known  as  the  "Ice  Jour- 


"FARTHEST  NORTH."  321 

nal,"  was  happily  recovered  by  Melville.  The  Captain  had 
maintained  it  to  the  very  day  of  his  death.  Nothing  can  ex 
ceed  the  heart-breaking  pathos  of  his  last  entries,  which 
merely  chronicle  the  succumbing  of  his  comrades  and  the 
number  of  the  day — one  more  since  the  wreck,  one  less  before 
his  end.  His  last  conscious  act,  apparently,  had  been  to  throw 
the  book  behind  him  as  of  no  more  use.  Even  as  he  turned 
back  for  this  the  rigor  of  death  and  of  freezing  invaded  his 
body,  which  was  found  lying  upon  the  side,  the  arm  uplifted 
above  the  snow  and  the  elbow  bent. 

The  issue  of  DeLong's  disastrous  enterprise  was  not 
known  in  time  to  quench  the  ardor  with  which  new  polar 
investigations  were  carried  on  in  1881.  Lieutenant  Wey- 
precht,  of  Austria-Hungary,  had,  in  1875,  proposed  a  series 
of  co-operating  stations  for  magnetic  and  meteorological  ob 
servations  near  the  North  Pole.  Lieutenant  Howgate,  of 
our  Signal  Service,  had  long  advocated  polar  colonization  in 
the  interest  of  geographical  science.  Several  nations,  the 
United  States  among  them,  were  moved  to  attempt  polar 
discovery. 

In  1881  we  established  two  stations,  one  of  them  on 
Lady  Franklin  Bay,  to  be  manned  by  Lieutenant  A.  W. 
Greely,  Fifth  United  States  Cavalry,  with  a  party  of  twenty- 
two  officers  and  soldiers,  and  two  Eskimos.  The  Proteus  bore 
Greely  and  his  men  from  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  the  early 
part  of  July,  1881.  Beyond  the  northernmost  Greenland  set 
tlement,  through  the  treacherous  archipelago,  between  the 
"land  ice"  and  the  "middle  pack"  of  Melville  Bay,  amid 
the  iceberg  squadrons  of  Smith  Sound  and  Kane  Sea,  the 
stanch  little  sealer  kept  her  course.  Eight  miles  from  her 
destination  she  was  for  the  first  time  blocked.  A  solid  semi 
circle  of  ice  confronted  her,  reaching  clear  across  from  Green 
land  to  Grinnell  Land.  Large  noes  broke  off  and  passed  her, 
only  to  reform  and  cut  off  her  retreat,  while  the  northern 
pack,  advancing,  threatened  to  crush  her.  Upon  new  caprice, 
however,  the  upper  ice  retired  toward  the  polar  ocean,  and 
on  the  llth  the  little  army  disembarked,  one  thousand  miles 


322  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

north  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  A  fortnight  later  the  Proteus 
whistled  farewell  and  began  her  return  trip,  which,  like  the 
out-passage,  was  "without  parallel  or  precedent"  for  freedom 
from  the  difficulties  and  dangers  unanimously  reported  as 
existing  in  that  region. 

It  was  proposed  in  1882  to  visit  the  Greely  colony  with 
supplies  and  reinforcements,  and  in  1883  to  effect  its  return. 
Setting  out  a  year  and  a  day  after  the  Proteus,  the  Neptune 
achieved  a  hard  hut  steady  advance  to  Kane  Sea,  but  this  she 
found  choked  with  ice.  For  forty  days  she  vainly  assaulted 
her  godfather's  polar  phalanx.  When,  with  the  close  of  Au 
gust,  whitening  cliffs  and  withering  vegetation  portended 
winter,  Beebe,  the  commander,  hastening  to  place  a  small 
cache  on  either  side  of  Smith  Sound,  returned,  as  ordered, 
with  all  the  rest  of  his  abounding  supplies,  which  were  stored 
in  Newfoundland,  to  be  taken  north  again  by  the  Proteus  in 
1883. 

The  1883  undertaking  was  doubly  momentous  from  the 
past  year's  failure.  The  Proteus,  Lieutenant  Ernest  A.  Gar- 
lington  commanding,  was  attended  by  the  Y  antic,  under  Com 
mander  Frank  Wildes,  United  States  Navy.  This  enterprise 
was  begun  in  mismanagement  and  misunderstanding  and 
ended  in  misfortune.  Lethargy  of  delay  was  followed  by 
fever  of  precipitation.  Orders  were  irregularly  issued  and 
countermanded;  supplies  went  aboard  in  an  unclassified 
mass ;  the  foreign  crew  were  inefficient  and  careless,  the  "co 
operation"  of  Army  and  Navy  divided  responsibility  and 
hampered  both  arms.  The  Proteus  Court  of  Inquiry  se 
verely  censured  General  Hazen,  chief  signal  officer  of  the 
army,  for  remissness  in  these  weighty  particulars. 

The  arctic  armada  was  again  encountered  where  Beebe 
found  it.  Garlington,  too  completely  engrossed  with  the  in 
junction  to  reach  Lady  Franklin  Bay  at  all  hazards,  though 
stopping  at  Cape  Sabine  a  few  hours,  hurried  north  without 
replacing  the  damaged  supplies  there  or  leaving  any  of  his 
own.  Twice  in  her  struggle  the  Proteus  was  within  four 
hundred  yards  of  open  water;  twice  she  failed  to  reach  it. 


''FARTHEST  NORTH/'  323 

The  second  time  the  inexorable  jaws  of  the  ice-pack  crushed 
in  her  sides,  giving  only  time  to  tumble  a  part  of  the  cargo 
overboard.  The  crew  lent  no  aid,  but,  after  securing  their 
own  luggage,  began  looting  the  property  of  the  expedition. 
As  they  retreated  in  boats,  a  few  hundred  rations  were  left 
for  Greely  near  Cape  Sabine,  at  a  place  known  as  "Wreck 
Camp  Cache."  The  Court  of  Inquiry  thought  that  Garling- 
ton,  "after  the  sinking  of  the  Proteus,  erred  in  not  waiting 
longer  at  Pandora  Harbor,  with  the  object  of  obtaining  from 
the  Yantic  supplies"  for  a  depot  at  Lifeboat  Cove,  whither 
Greely  had  been  ordered  to  retreat.  The  Court,  however, 
deemed  this  but  an  error  of  judgment,  "committed  in  the  ex 
ercise  of  a  difficult  and  unusual  discretion,"  for  which  "he 
should  not  be  held  to  further  accountability."  After  unwit 
tingly  passing  the  Yantic  twice,  and  journeying  in  open  boats 
for  eight  hundred  miles  in  a  sea  stormy  and  full  of  bergs, 
the  Proteus  men  were  rescued  by  the  Yantic. 

Incredulity,  dismay,  and  indignation  now  quickly  suc 
ceeded  each  other  in  the  public  mind.  The  first  expedition 
for  the  rescue  of  Greely  had  been  a  failure,  the  second  was  a 
distressing  breach  of  faith.  Fearful,  indeed,  were  its  conse 
quences.  The  devoted  Greely  and  his  band,  in  nowise  re 
sponsible  for  it,  were  at  that  time  painfully  working  south 
ward  from  their  well-stored  outpost,  relying  upon  meeting 
succor  or  finding  a  refuge  prepared  for  them.  The  bleak 
desolation  of  Cape  Sabine,  with  but  forty  days'  rations, 
awaited  them.  Enough  food  to  last  them  over  five  years  had 
been  carried  to,  or  beyond,  Littleton  Island  by  the  relief  par 
ties  ;  but  only  one-fiftieth  of  it  had  been  placed  where  Greely 
could  get  it. 

New  efforts,  in  1883,  were  deemed  too  hazardous  to  be 
undertaken.  The  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  now  took  up  the  business  of  relieving  the  Lady  Frank 
lin  Bay  Expedition.  A  purely  naval  expedition  was  decided 
upon,  consisting  of  two  Dundee  whalers  and  two  reserve 
ships.  Secretary  Chandler  deserved  great  credit  for  his  tire 
less  energy  and  care  in  making  the  preparations.  Precau- 


324  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tions  were  multiplied,  no  delay  and  no  oversight  occurred. 
Congress  made  generous  appropriation,  though  not  without 
ridiculous  debate  and  higgling.  A  $25,000  bounty  was  pro 
claimed  for  rescue  or  tidings  of  the  Greely  party.  Mr. 
Chandler  had  purchased  the  Thetis  and  the  Bear  for  the 
perilous  cruise.  The  British  Government  presented  us  with 
the  capable  arctic  veteran,  the  Alert,  in  addition  to  which  a 
fourth  vessel,  the  Locli  6rarn/,-was  chartered  as  a. collier. 
The  brave  Engineer  Melville,  undaunted  by  his  dreadful  ex 
periences  with  DeLong,  insisted  upon  going  to  hunt  for 
Greely. 

Commander  Winfield  S.  Schley,  heading  the  expedition, 
was  as  efficient  as  his  chief.  Though  most  of  his  subordinates 
were  inexperienced  in  arctic  work,  and  though  he  had  to 
fight  for  every  inch  of  progress,  he  carried  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  to  Cape  York  ahead  of  several  whalers  who  sought 
to  outdo  him.  Much  game  and  many  walruses  were  seen 
on  the  east  side  of  Smith  Sound,  but  no  signs  of  the  explor 
ing  party.  It  was  inferred  that  they  must  have  remained 
at  their  post  in  the  north,  but  Schley  decided  to  stop  near 
Cape  Sabine  and  make  a  cache  before  pushing  thither. 

Smith  Sound,  about  twenty-three  miles  wide,  was  trav 
ersed  in  a  roaring  tempest.  Parties  were  landed  to  examine 
old  caches,  when  almost  simultaneously  two  of  them  reported 
"news  from  Greely."  Records  and  despatches  from  him 
found  here  revealed  wonderful  achievements.  Apart  from 
his  regular  observations,  the  interior  of  Grinnell  Land  had 
been  explored.  To  their  surprise,  fertile  valleys  were  brought 
to  light  there,  supporting  herds  of  musk  oxen,  in  striking  con 
trast  with  the  great  ice  cap  and  the  glacial  lake.  Traces  of 
the  Eskimo  were  found,  where  they  had  wintered  in  their 
long  migration  from  the  Parry  Archipelago  to  the  coast  of 
Greenland.  The  climatic  conditions  of  Grinnell  Land  were 
determined,  and  data  were  secured  from  which  were  ascer 
tained  the  co-tidal  lines  of  the  polar  ocean,  the  force  of 
gravity  and  the  deviations  of  the  compass  at  Fort  Conger. 
Other  most  interesting  and  valuable  information  was  ob- 


"FARTHEST  NORTH."  325 

tained.  The  northwestern  coast  of  Greenland  had  been 
plotted,  and  a  point  reached  further  north  than  any  ever 
before  trodden  by  man.  For  the  first  time  in  three  hundred 
years  England's  "Farthest"  had  been  left  behind — the  new 
'"Farthest"  being  83°  24',  viz.,  only  6°  36',  or  about  four 
hundred  and  thirty  statute  miles  from  the  Pole.  The  view 
thence,  from  a  height  of  2,600  feet,  revealed  an  unbroken 
stretch  of  ice,  proving  the  polar  ocean  to  reach  within  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  the  Pole.  To  the  northeast, 
twenty-eight  miles  further,  they  saw  Cape  Washington. 
Foxes,  lemmings,  ptarmigan,  and  plants  were  seen  even  at 
that  high  latitude.  Observations  were  continued  through 
the  long  arctic  night.  Though  usually  not  so  magnificent 
as  at  Upernivik,  several  fine  displays  of  the  mysterious 
Northern  Lights  were  beheld.  Greely  remarked  upon  one 
in  particular.  From  the  southwestern  horizon  to  the  zenith 
extended  an  arc  woven  of  spiral  ribbons  of  many-colored 
light.  It  seemed  to  rotate  or  to  keep  springing  upward, 
replenished  from  some  unseen  and  exhaustless  fountain  of 
splendors,  while  at  the  summit  little  puffs  of  light  detached 
themselves  to  float  away  and  perish. 

A  journal,  "The  Arctic  Moon,"  had  been  launched,  sus 
pected  to  be  the  organ  of  some  one  who  stood  for  Congress 
before  the  Grinnell  Land  electorate  on  a  platform  of  un 
limited  emigration.  Litters  of  dogs  had  been  raised  and 
musk-calves  domesticated.  The  little  library  was  well  pa 
tronized,  games  were  invented,  and  much  time  devoted  to 
sleep.  Christmas  had  been  duly  celebrated.  Presents  from 
friends,  sacredly  kept  packed  till  then,  were  opened,  exciting 
a  rather  unsoldierly  sensation  in  the  throat.  One  obscure 
private,  friendless  but  for  his  comrades,  inured  to  hardships 
and  neglect,  was  wellnigh  overcome  to  find  himself  remem 
bered  with  a  gift.  Another  for  a  moment  wore  a  puzzled 
look  as  he  opened  a  flat  package  and  found  it  to  contain  a  fan ! 

In  August,  1883,  the  party  had  abandoned  their  post 
at  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  in  the  far  North,  retreating  by  boat 
down  the  east  coast  of  Grinnell  Land.  At  one  stage  an 


326  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

immense  stranded  floeberg  reared  a  wall  fifty  feet  high  in 
front  of  them.  Steaming  along  its  foot  they  finally  observed 
a  fissure,  or  canon,  not  more  than  a  dozen  feet  wide.  The 
little  launch,  with  whaleboats  in  tow,  boldly  entered  the 
crevice  and  safely  reached  open  water  more  than  a  hundred 
yards  further  on.  Later  they  camped  on  a  floe,  but,  tem 
pestuous  weather  setting  in,  were  alarmed  to  see  it  broken 
in  pieces  by  the  adjacent  floes,  which  ground  together  with 
indescribable  groanings  and  measureless  force.  On  the  north 
a  fine  floe  of  palseocrystic  ice  was  pressing  on  their  own, 
separated,  however,  by  a  buffer  or  cushion  of  rubble  ice  fifty 
feet  wide,  and  for  the  present  made  solid  by  the  pressure. 
The  sledge  and  provisions  were  rushed  across  this  chasm, 
articles  of  least  value  being  left  till  the  last,  and  hardly  had 
the  rearmost  man  passed  over  before  the  floes  parted,  and 
their  bridge  was  swallowed  in  the  sea. 

The  most  recent  despatch  found  by  the  rescuers,  on  first 
perusal,  sent  a  joyful  thrill  through  those  who  read. 

"My  party  is  now  permanently  encamped  on  the  west 
side  of  a  small  neck  of  land  which  connects  the  Wreck-Cache 
Cove,  or  bay,  and  the  one  to  its  west.  Distant  about  equally 
from  Cape  Sabine  and  Cocked  Hat  Island.  All  well. 

"A.  W.  GREELY, 

"1st  Li.  5th  Cav.,  A.  8.  0.  and  Ass't 
Commanding  Expedition/' 

Horror  succeeded.  The  date  at  the  bottom  was  October 
21,  1883,  seven  months  before,  and  at  that  date  only  forty 
days'  rations  remained.  Was  it  possible  that  any  were  still 
alive  ? 

The  Thetis  blew  three  long  whistles  for  a  general  "re 
call,"  preparing  to  steam  on  toward  Greely's  "permanent 
encampment,"  where  at  that  very  moment  a  tent,  half  fallen 
down,  sheltered  seven  starving  men,  too  weak  to  raise  it 
again.  These  were  all  who  then  remained  of  Greely's  ex 
pedition.  Tor  the  last  three  months  they  had  seen  their  com 
panions  smitten  one  by  one.  The  rule,  almost  to  the  last, 


"FARTHEST  NORTH."  827 

had  been  cheerfulness  and  hope ;  to  the  very  last  had  it  been 
mutual  self-sacrifice.  In  spite  of  "the  hoarse  grinding  of 
the  ice-pack  not  far  off/7  which  one  mentioned  in  his  journal 
but  did  not  speak  of  lest  he  "discourage  the  others/'  part  of 
them  had  made  a  futile  attempt  to  cross  to  Littleton  Island. 
Observations  had  been  rigorously  maintained  and  they  were 
determined  to  continue  them  "till  the  last  man  died."  Greely 
and  others  gave  lectures  on  the  United  States,  on  a  pleasant 
winter  in  the  West  Indies,  on  army  experiences.  Dry  statis 
tics  concerning  food  exports  from  the  United  States  were 
conned  with  strange  persistency.  Yet  each  meal  was  cheer 
fully  voted  "the  best  yet/'  and  Thanksgiving  Day  pleasantly 
passed  in  telling  what  each  proposed  to  have  for  his  next 
Thanksgiving  dinner. 

When  provisions  ran  low  a  resolute  party  set  out  to 
recover  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  English  meat  cached 
at  Cape  Isabella,  twenty-five  miles  from  camp,  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Point  Eskimo,  but  beyond.  In  spite  of  protest,  Eli- 
son,  one  of  the  squad,  insisted  on  eating  snow.  Soon  his 
hands,  face,  and  feet  were  fearfully  frozen.  With  great 
difficulty  he  was  brought  back  to  camp,  losing  his  hands, 
feet,  and  nose  by  natural  amputation.  He  was  henceforth 
allowed  double  the  portion  of  his  comrades,  a  spoon  being 
strapped  to  his  arm  that  he  might  eat  without  help. 

A  second  effort,  brave  and  sad,  by  Sergeant  Kice  and 
Private  Frederick  alone,  to  recover  the  English  meat,  proved 
equally  vain  and  even  more  disastrous.  Risking  their  lives 
at  almost  every  step  of  the  way  they  at  last  reached  the 
place  only  to  find,  after  hours  of  searching  among  the  floes, 
that  their  triumph  was  a  barren  one.  The  English  meat  had 
drifted  from  the  shore.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  go 
creeping  back  to  camp,  if  they  could  get  there;  but  Rice, 
having  wet  and  frozen  his  feet,  was  spent,  and  could  not  walk 
a  step.  He  begged  Frederick  to  go  and  leave  him  to  die, 
but  Frederick  would  not.  Instead,  drawing  the  sledge  close 
under  the  edge  of  a  floeberg,  he  placed  Rice  upon  it, 
wrapped  his  frozen  feet  with  the  temiak  or  fur-lined  jacket 


328  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

taken  from  his  own  back  for  this  purpose,  and  then  sat  and 
held  his  unfortunate  comrade  till  the  latter's  pain  was  re 
lieved  by  death.  Frederick  was  minded  to  die  there,  too. 
What  use  in  returning  to  Starvation  Camp  with  his  story 
of  disappointment !  But  fearing  that  those  in  camp  would 
plan  a  rescue  and  end  their  lives  in  unnecessary  misery,  he 
resolved  to  go  back.  The  dauntless  fellow  got  as  far  as 
Point  Eskimo,  God  only  knows  how.  Here  they  had  left 
their  sleeping-bag,  expecting  to  return  to  it  the  same  day 
they  parted  from  it,  as  they  would  have  done  had  the  meat 
been  found  and  had  Rice  not  failed.  After  refreshing  him 
self  with  bread  and  tea,  the  exhausted  Frederick  crawled 
into  the  bag  and  slept.  On  awaking,  much  stronger,  but 
now  smitten  with  remorse  that  he  had  made  no  effort  to 
bury  poor  Rice,  the  indomitable  man  pushed  back  all  that 
awful  way  and  gave  the  frozen  corpse  of  his  loving  comrade 
such  burial  as  he  could.  He  then  made  the  best  of  his 
slow  and  painful  journey  to  Greely's  camp.  Gnawing  hun 
ger  tempted  him  to  eat  Rice's  ration,  for  which  none  could 
or  would  have  blamed  him,  but  he  refused.  He  would  use 
what  was  his  own,  but  would  not  rob  the  living  or  the  dead. 
He  reached  camp  hardly  alive,  hauling  the  sledge  with  Rice's 
dole  of  crumbs  upon  it,  to  tell  how  costly  and  how  bootless 
his  mission  had  been. 

After  the  death,  in  January,  of  Cross,  from  scurvy,  their 
number  was  not  lessened  again  till  April  5th,  when  one  of 
the  Eskimos  succumbed.  Sergeant  Lynn  breathed  his  last 
on  April  6th.  The  very  day,  April  9th,  when  Sergeant  Rice 
perished  in  his  heroic  search  for  the  English  meat,  Lieuten 
ant  Lockwood,  one  of  the  two  Americans  who  reached 
farthest  north,  also  passed  away.  The  last  words  he  wrote 
were :  "Jewell  is  much  weaker  to-day" — and  Sergeant  Jewell 
was  the  next  to  yield.  April  29th  the  other  Eskimo  was 
drowned  in  a  brave  effort  to  catch  a  seal.  On  Easter  Sunday 
a  snowbird  on  the  roof  chirped  loudly.  "All  noise  stopped 
as  by  magic  and  no  word  was  said  till  the  little  bird  passed." 
The  death  catalogue  was  lengthened  on  May  19th,  when 


"FARTHEST  NORTH,"  329 

Private  Ellis  died,  soon  followed  by  three  others,  Sergeant 
Ralston,  Private  Whisler,  and  Sergeant  Israel.  From  June 
1st  to  June  18th  seven  perished,  but  of  these  only  the  first, 
Lieutenant  Kislingbury,  could  be  interred.  Private  Salor 
died  on  June  3d.  On  June  6th  Private  Henry  was  shot  for 
stealing  provisions,  and  lay  where  he  fell.  Two  more,  Dr. 
Pavy  and  Private  Bender,  died  on  this  day.  The  rest  were 
carried  to  the  foot  of  the  floeberg,  save-  Schneider,  who  died 
on  June  18th.  The  party  had  not  sufficient  strength  to 
move  him.  The  loss,  June  12th,  of  Gardiner,  who  passed 
away  murmuring  "Mother — Wife,"  deeply  affected  all.  The 
death  angel  so  common  a  visitor,  the  men  grew  jocular  in 
his  presence.  When  a  raven  escaped  them  one  protested 
that  he  could  not  "eat  crow,"  anyway.  To  the  very  day  of 
the  rescue  Brainard  persisted  in  his  habit  of  collecting 
specimens. 

At  midnight  on  June  23d  the  seven  survivors  heard  a 
whistling  above  the  sound  of  the  gale.  Forty-two  hours  they 
had  been  without  a  morsel,  and  long  weeks  without  anything 
like  proper  rations.  Only  two — Long  and  Brainard — were 
able  to  walk.  These  went  forth  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
the  noise.  Brainard  reported  nothing  in  sight,  but  Long  lin 
gered  outside.  The  wretched  men  in  the  tent  discussed  the 
strange  shriek  with  pathetic  garrulity,  finally  deciding  that 
it  must  have  been  the  wind  blowing  across  the  edge  of  a  tin 
can.  At  this  juncture  Connell  showed  the  familiar  touch  of 
death  in  his  slightly  swollen  appearance,  cold  and  paralyzed 
extremities,  and  aimless  mumbling.  "Death,"  says  Greely, 
"kindly  took  away  all  pain,"  and  Connell,  like  those  stricken 
before  him,  was  tranquil.  Greely  crawled  toward  the  light 
with  a  Testament,  while  Brainard  pressed  the  little  remain 
ing  brandy  to  the  dying  man's  lips.  He  only  murmured, 
"Let  me  die  in  peace." 

On  reaching  her  objective  the  Thetis  despatched  Lieu 
tenant  Colwell  in  the  cutter  to  find  out  the  worst.  At 
Wreck  Cache  no  life  appeared.  As  they  rounded  the  next 
point  the  silhouette  of  a  human  figure  was  seen  against  the 


330  HISTORY  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

dull  sky.  Instantly  the  boat's  flag  was  brandished.  Pain 
fully  the  figure  stooped,  picked  up  a  flag,  evidently  the 
Greely  distress  flag,  and  waved  an  answer.  Then,  half  walk 
ing,  half  falling  down  the  slope,  Long  approached  his  saviors. 
"He  was  a  ghastly  sight,"  said  Schley.  "His  cheeks  were 
hollow,  his  eyes  wild,  his  hair  and  beard  long  and  matted. 
His  army  blouse,  covering  several  thicknesses  of  shirts  and 
jackets,  was  ragged  and  dirty.  He  wore  a  little  fur  cap, 
and  rough  moccasins  of  untanned  leather  tied  around  the 
legs.  His  utterance  was  thick  and  mumbling,  and  in  his  agi 
tation  his  jaws  worked  in  convulsive  twitches.57  He  was  con 
veyed  to  the  ward-room  of  the  Bear,  where  he  described 
the  party's  plight,  pausing  and  often  repeating  himself. 
"We've  had  a  hard  winter — a  hard  winter — and  the  wonder 
is  how  in  God's  name  we  pulled  through."  The  rest,  he 
said,  were  on  shore  in  "sore  distress — sore  distress." 

After  placing  Long  in  the  cuttter,  ColwelPs  party  had 
hurried  forward.  "They  saw  spread  out  before  them  a  deso 
late  expanse  of  rocky  ground.  Back  of  the  level  space  was 
a  range  of  hills  rising  up  eight  hundred  feet,  with  a  pre 
cipitous  face,  broken  in  two  by  a  gorge,  through  which  the 
wind  was  blowing  furiously.  On  a  little  elevation  directly 
in  front  was  the  tent.  Lowe  and  Norman  were  ahead,  and 
were  greeting  a  soldierly  man  [Brainard]  who  had  come  out 
from  the  tent.  As  Colwell  approached,  Norman  said  to  the 
man: 

"There  is  the  lieutenant/'  and  he  added  to  Colwell : 

"This  is  Sergeant  Brainard." 

Brainard  drew  himself  up  and  was  about  to  salute,  when 
Colwell  took  his  hand.  At  that  moment  a  feeble  voice  within 
the  tent  was  heard: 

"Who's  there  ?" 

"It's  Norman — Norman  who  was  in  the  Proteus." 

Cries  of  "Oh,  it's  Norman!"  were  followed  by  a  feeble 
cheer. 

Greely  said  of  this  moment:  "We  had  resigned  our 
selves  to  despair,  when  suddenly  strange  voices  were  heard 


"FARTHEST  NORTH."  331 

calling  me;  and  in  a  frenzy  of  feeling  as  vehement  as  our 
enfeebled  condition  would  permit,  we  realized  that  our  coun 
try  had  not  failed  us,  that  the  long  agony  was  over,  and  the 
remnant  of  the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition  was  saved. " 

Colwell  cut  a  slit  in  the  tent  and  looked  in.  He  was 
enjoined  by  an  inmate  to  be  careful  not  to  step  upon  Con- 
nell,  who  lay  under  the  very  hand  of  death,  his  jaw  drooping, 
his  eyes  glazed.  Directly  opposite  on  hands  and  knees, 
was  a  dark  man  with  a  matted  beard,  in  a  dirty  and  tattered 
dressing-gown,  a  little  red  skull-cap  on  his  head,  who,  as 
Colwell  appeared,  looked  up  from  his  Testament  and  va 
cantly  adjusted  his  eye-glasses  to  his  brilliant,  staring  eyes. 
Twice  Colwell  asked,  "Who  are  you?"  but  got  no  answer. 
One  of  the  men  said:  "That's  the  Major — Major  Greely." 
Colwell  took  him  by  the  hand,  saying,  "Greely,  is  this  you  ?" 
"Yes,"  said  Greely.  "Yes — seven  of  us  left — here  we  are — 
dying — like  men.  Did  what  I  came  to  do — beat  the  best 
record."  Here  he  fell  back  exhausted.  His  indomitable 
spirit  had  thus  far  conquered  despair  for  himself  and  his 
companions.  He  had  not  ceased  to  exhort  them  to  "Die 
like  men,  not  like  dogs,"  ever  telling  them  the  story  of  the 
British  soldiers  who  stood  at  parade  on  deck  till  their  ship 
went  under,  while  the  women  and  children  put  off  in  boats. 
Forty-eight  hours  later  not  a  man  of  the  seven  would  have 
been  alive.  Connell  afterward  said :  "Death  had  me  by  the 
heels,  boys,  when  you  pulled  me  back  by  the  neck."  They 
were  in  the  dotage  of  starvation.  Some  refused  to  believe 
that  relief  was  at  hand,  and  had  to  be  humored  in  their 
scepticism.  The  craving  of  hunger,  lately  blunted,  reawoke, 
when  their  entreaties  for  food  were  the  more  touching  in  that 
they  could  not  be  granted. 

Greely  protested  against  moving  the  dead.  He  felt 
about  them  as  Chief  Engineer  Melville  had  felt  about  De- 
Long  and  his  comrades,  and  would  have  left  them  where  the 
"polar  blasts  which  pierced  their  poor  unclad  bodies  in  life 
would  wail  their  wild  dirge  through  all  time."  But  the 
feelings  of  the  dead  men's  friends  must  be  consulted,  and 


HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

such  bodies  as  could  be  recovered  were  brought  to  America. 
Elison  died  on  the  voyage.  As  if  he  had  himself  never  felt 
pain,  he  said,  on  meeting  Engineer  Melville:  "So  you  were 
with  the  Jeannette,  and  poor  DeLong  is  dead.  Poor  fellows, 
Jiow  they  must  have  suffered!" 

At  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  the  rescuers  and  rescued 
were  besieged,  though  the  latter  were  carefully  sequestered 
from  the  crowds.  The  squadron  was  escorted  out  of  the 
harbor  by  a  fleet  of  crowded  tugs  and  launches,  which 
passed  around  the  ships,  cheering  and  whistling  "bon  voy 
age/'  At  that  time  Greely  himself  was  too  weak  to  walk 
far,  but  on  the  1st  of  August,  when  they  sighted  Portsmouth, 
he  had  gained  fifty  pounds. 

That  afternoon,  in  the  glory  of  summer  sunshine,  the 
shores  of  Portsmouth  Harbor  were  lined  with  sympathetic 
people,  the  water  covered  with  sails,  flags,  and  streamers,  the 
lower  port  occupied  by  the  five  vessels  of  the  North  Atlantic 
Squadron  and  other  ships  of  the  navy.  As  the  Alliance, 
leading  the  Thetis,  the  Bear,  and  the  Alert,  steamed  up-har- 
bor,  the  Marine  Band  played  "Home  Again,"  while  the  crews 
from  the  rigging  shouted  welcome  to  the  survivors  and  their 
saviors. 

Secretary  Chandler's  barge  bore  Mrs.  Greely  to  the  Thetis, 
which  she  was  the  first  to  board.  Then  the  officers  of  the 
squadron  were  welcomed  on  board  the  flagship,  Tennessee, 
by  the  Secretary  and  Admiral  Luce.  Later  these  officers, 
with  General  Hazen,  greeted  Greely  on  board  the  Thetis. 
For  the  next  three  days  visitors  swarmed  over  the  ship.  On 
the  4th  a  grand  civic  procession  of  distinguished  men,  bands, 
marines,  and  militia  passed  in  review  through  the  streets  of 
the  hospitable  city. 

Men's  feelings  were  mingled  and  contradictory.  They 
were  proud  of  Schley's  achievement  and  joyful  at  the  return 
of  the  living ;  but  no  less  sincere  and  affecting  was  their  grief 
at  the  thought  of  the  vanished  majority,  whose  remains  sadly 
freighted  the  relief  squadron.  At  Fort  Columbus,  as  the 
vessels  reached  New  York,  twenty-one  guns  saluted  them. 


"FARTHEST  NORTH."  333 

On  Governor's  Island  troops  were  drawn  up  to  receive  the 
dead.  Among  the  distinguished  officers  present  were  Gen 
erals  Sheridan,  Hancock,  and  Hazen,  and  Commodore  Fille- 
brown.  As  the  bodies,  save  that  of  Sergeant  Jewell,  which 
had  gone  to  his  New  Hampshire  home,  were  borne  through 
the  lane  of  troops  to  the  chapel  and  there  delivered  to  friends, 
arms  were  presented,  while  minute  guns  wrere  discharged  to 
mark  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion. 

To  the  Greely  expedition  as  a  whole  no  official  recogni 
tion  was  ever  given,  save  the  oral  thanks  of  President  Arthur 
expressed  to  commanding  officer  Greely  on  his  return  to 
Washington.  A  resolution  tendering  the  thanks  of  Congress 
was  once  introduced  in  Congress,  but  the  member  having  it 
in  charge  died,  and  it  did  not  pass.  Some  of  the  men  going 
on  the  expedition  were  never  reimbursed  for  the  clothing  lost 
by  them. 

Greely's  promotion  to  be  Chief  Signal  Officer  was  not,  as 
was  generally  supposed,  a  reward  for  his  arctic  exploits.  He 
had  served  eighteen  years  as  Chief  Assistant  in  the  Signal 
Office,  was  the  senior  officer  of  the  office,  on  whom  the  duties 
devolved  by  law,  had  been  in  charge  of  them  for  several 
months  before  General  Hazen's  death,  and  continued  there 
until  his  appointment  a  month  later.  Greely  was,  however, 
not  without  recognition  from  other  sources.  His  native 
State,  Massachusetts,  and  Newburyport,  his  native  city,  both 
gave  him  testimonials.  Besides  honorary  membership  in 
many  distinguished  organizations,  he  received  the  Grand 
Gold  Medal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London, 
and  the  Medal  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  Paris. 

Of  the  survivors  among  Greely's  men  Sergeant  David  L. 
Brainard  was,  on  account  of  his  arctic  services,  promoted  to 
be  Second  Lieutenant.  In  1895,  he  was  First  Lieutenant  in 
the  Second  United  States  Cavalry.  Biederbick  had,  at  the 
time  mentioned,  a  small  pension.  He  was  an  inspector  of 
customs  in  New  York,  where  lie  showed  the  same  fidelity 
which  characterized  him  in  the  Far  North.  Long,  Frederick, 
and  Connell  were  employed  by  the  Meteorological  Division 


334  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

of  the  Signal  Office,  under  control  of  the  Agricultural  De 
partment.  Frederick  had  been  refused  a  pension.  Cou 
ncil's  pay  had  been  reduced,  but  he  stood  very  high  in  the 
service. 

The  Dark  Continent  of  Greenland  furnished  an  exhaust- 
less  and  fascinating  field  for  the  speculative  to  roam  over  in 
fancy  and  the  adventurous  in  fact.  Lieut.  R.  E.  Peary,  a 
civil  engineer  connected  with  the  Navy,  belonged  distinctly 
to  the  class  given  to  actual  adventures,  and  his  several  sledge 
journeys  across  Greenland's  icy  mountains  were  among  the 
most  brilliant  geographical  feats  in  all  history.  In  1886,  he 
reached  a  point  near  Disco,  about  fifty  miles  from  the  coast. 
In  1892,  he  sallied  northward  again,  this  time  in  company 
with  his  wife.  Suffering  from  a  broken  leg,  he  was  tenderly 
and  tirelessly  watched  by  her.  On  one  occasion,  while  he  was 
convalescent,  they  were  together  in  the  stern  of  a  boat,  and 
became  surrounded  by  a  herd  of  angry  walruses  trying  to  get 
their  tusks  over  the  gunwale  and  capsize  the  boat.  For  an 
hour  the  heroic  woman  coolly  reloaded  the  firearms  while  the 
crew  rapidly  discharged  them,  thus  successfully  keeping  the 
monsters  at  bay. 

Upon  this  trip  Mr.  Peary,  accompanied  by  Dr.  F.  A. 
Cook,  Messrs.  Langdon  Gibson,  Eivind  Astrup,  John  T. 
Verhoeff,  and  Matthew  Henson,  colored,  disembarked  at 
Whale  Sound,  across  from  the  tragic  Cape  Sabiiie  and  a  trifle 
south  thereof.  It  was  in  some  respects  an  advantage  that  the 
party  was  small,  the  smallest  that  had  ever  embarked  on  so 
extensive  ari  arctic  enterprise.  Despite  his  infirmity,  Peary 
explored  Inglefield  Gulf,  crossed  the  icy  rump,  5,000  feet 
high,  divorcing  Whale  Sound  from  Kane  Sea,  went  as  far 
north  as  82  °,  thence  viewing  the  ice-free  land  discovered  by 
Lockwood,  supposed  to  be  separate  from  Greenland,  though 
adjacent  to  it.  Blocked  by  the  fiord  to  the  north,  the  intrepid 
explorer  turned  eastward.  He  reached  Independence  Bay 
on  the. 4th  of  July,  1892.  Returning  he  took  almost  a  bee- 
line  for  450  miles  to  his  starting  point,  where  he  arrived  on 
August  6th,  after  an  absence  of  ninety-three  days. 


"FARTHEST  NORTH."  335 

This  expedition  proved  that  the  eastern  and  western 
shores  of  Greenland  rapidly  converge  north  of  parallel  78°. 
Greenland  is  therefore  an  island.  On  this  tour  Peary  marked 
the  northward  extension  of  the  great  Greenland  ice-cap,  thus 
certifying  another  point  in  geography;  while  Mrs.  Peary,  in 
observing  the  manners  of  an  absolutely  isolated  Eskimo  tribe 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty  people,  made  a  valuable  contribu 
tion  to  anthropology.  These  important  results  were  not 
achieved  without  cost  in  human  life.  One  of  the  little  party, 
Verhoeff,  being  separated  from  the  others,  lost  his  life  in  the 
cracks  of  a  glacier.  After  a  thorough  search  had  failed,  a 
year's  food  was  cached  for  his  use,  should  he  be  alive,  and 
with  heavy  hearts  the  party  left  the  place. 

Having  raised  funds,  in  1893,  by  a  lecture  tour,  Mr. 
Peary  found  himself  in  the  spring  of  1894  once  more  scaling 
the  Greenland  ice  at  a  distance  from  the  coast,  at  last  attain 
ing  an  elevation  of  5,500  feet.  For  the  first  thirteen  days 
he  advanced  ten  miles  a  day.  His  dogs  died  off,  his  men 
were  nearly  all  frosted  and  sent  back.  He  cached  his  sur 
plus  stores,  and  with  the  remainder  of  his  party  pressed  for 
ward  for  the  next  fortnight  six  miles  a  day.  He  finally  had 
to  turn  about  and  hasten  to  Bowdoin  Bay,  accomplishing  lit 
tle  more  that  season. 

It  was,  nevertheless,  his  ambition  to  map  the  northern 
coast  of  Greenland.  Against  prudent  counsels  he  declined 
to  return  south  on  the  steamer  Falcon,  which  visited  him  in 
August,  1894.  Though  with  insufficient  stores,  he  deter 
mined  to  winter  in  Greenland  with  two  companions,  wrho  vol 
unteered  to  stay  with  him.  Preparing  beforehand  a  supply 
station,  he,  in  April,  1895,  ventured  inland  once  more.  His 
Eskimos  left  him,  he  could  not  find  his  supplies,  his  men 
suffered  from  frost-bite,  and  game  failed ;  yet,  with  an  audac 
ity  splendid  because  it  chanced  not  to  be  fatal,  the  devoted 
band  pushed  forward  to  Independence  Bay.  Happily  ob 
taining  ten  musk-oxen,  they  began  the  return  journey,  starva 
tion  marching  close  behind  them.  Everything  but  food  was 
dropped,  and  on  June  25th,  after  twenty-five  forced  marches, 


336  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

they  dragged  themselves  to  Bowdoin  Bay  and  to  succor.  For 
two  weeks  they  had  had  but  one  meal  a  day,  and  they  had 
been  foodless  for  twenty-four  hours  before  reaching  their 
journey's  end. 

Of  these  explorations  General  Greely  said:  "The  two 
crossings  of  Greenland  by  Peary  must  be  classed  among  the 
most  brilliant  geographic  feats  of  late  years,  his  journeys  far 
surpassing  in  extent  that  of  his  ice-cap  predecessor,  ^sTanseii, 
who  crossed  Greenland  more  than  1,000  miles  to  the  south." 
Peary  and  those  who  furthered  his  undertakings  perhaps  ex 
pected  too  much.  He  was  bitterly  disappointed  at  the  small 
results  of  his  last  journey,  and  believed  that  arctic  explora 
tion  was  set  back  many  years  by  his  failure. 


THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  337 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST. 

The  New  Orleans  Cotton  Centennial — Buildings,  Exhibits,  and  In 
fluence — Political  Situation  in  1884 — Presidential  Candidates — 
Rise  of  James  G.  Elaine — Charges  Against  Him — His  Prospects 
in  1876 — Investigation  of  His  Record — The  Mulligan  Letters — 
Dramatic  Self- Vindication  Before  the  House — Blaine  and  Knott 
— Blaine  in  Garfield's  Cabinet — Peru  and  Chile — Blaine  in  Ad 
vance  of  His  Party  —  Republican  Convention  of  1884  —  Lynch 
made  Temporary  Chairman  —  Effort  to  Unite  upon  Arthur — 
Scenes  in  the  Convention  upon  Elaine's  Nomination — The  Mug 
wumps  Bolt  —  Grover  Cleveland  —  His  Youth,  Education,  and 
Early  Official  Life — Governor  of  New  York — Nominated  by  the 
Democratic  National  Convention — The  Mugwumps  Declare  for 
Cleveland  —  Charges  against  Blaine  —  How  Far  True — "Rum, 
Romanism,  and  Rebellion" — Hendricks  Pacifies  Tammany — Cleve 
land  Victorious. 

THANKS  to  the  "JSTew  Departure"  of  1871,  the  South 
soon  ceased  to  be  a  political  storm  centre.  Early  in  1881 
Rev.  Dr.  Haygood,  president  of  Emory  College,  in  Georgia, 
preached  a  sermon,  published  by  the  unanimous  request  of 
the  congregation,  in  which  he  expressed  rejoicing  at  the  abo 
lition  of  slavery  as  a  blessing.  In  1881,  a  successful  indus 
trial  exposition  had  been  held  in  Atlanta,  and,  in  1883,  an 
other  in  Louisville,  both  revealing  much  progress  in  business 
at  the  South.  Of  wider  interest  than  either  was  the  World's 
Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  of  1884.  This 
date  was  chosen  because  a  bale  of  cotton,  the  first,  so  far  as 
known,  was  shipped  to  England  from  Charleston  in  1784. 
Congress  incorporated  the  exposition  and  authorized  a  loan 
to  it  of  $1,000,000.  Private  parties  subscribed  half  a  mil 
lion  more.  New  Orleans,  selected  as  the  most  suitable  loca 
tion,  gave  $100,000  to  erect  Horticultural  Hall.  Louisiana^ 
appropriated  for  the  enterprise  $100,000,  and  some  contri 
butions  were  made  by  other  States. 
U.  S.  VOL.  8.— 15. 


338  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

Upper  City  Park,  two  hundred  arid  forty-five  acres  in 
extent,  on  the  river,  above  the  city,  was  artistically  laid  out 
and  adorned.  The  most  characteristic  feature  connected  with 
the  Exposition  was  to  be  found  in  the  avenues  winding 
through  vistas  of  live  oaks  festooned  with  Spanish  moss,  or 
through  groves  of  banana,  lemon,  orange,  mesquite,  and  ma 
guey,  varied  with  beds  of  brilliant  tropical  flowers  and  with 
fountains.  By  night  electric  lights,  then  a  novelty  to  many 
visitors,  added  to  the  fascination  of  the  place.  The  Exposi 
tion  opened  on  December  16th.  The  Governor  of  Louisiana 
was  present,  as  were  also  Postmaster-General  Hatton  and 
Secretary  Teller,  representing  the  Cabinet.  Dignitaries 
from  distant  States  in  the  Union  honored  the  occasion  by 
attending.  At  the  same  moment  a  distinguished  company, 
including  a  committee  from  each  House  of  Congress,  was 
assembled  in  the  East  Room  of  the  Presidential  Mansion  at 
Washington.  The  preliminary  exercises  in  full  were  tele 
graphed  to  President  Arthur,  who  telegraphed  back  a  fitting 
response.  At  the  pressure  of  a  button  in  the  White  House 
the  mazes  of  machinery  began  to  move,  and  the  Exposition 
was  declared  formally  in  operation. 

The  Main  Building  was  the  largest  structure  which  had 
then  been  erected  for  exhibition  purposes,  having  an  area 
of  1,656,030  square  feet.  The  Government  Building,  con 
taining  the  exhibits  of  the  National  and  State  Governments, 
was  885  feet  long  by  565  wide,  while  Horticultural  Hall,  of 
iron  and  glass,  and  designed  to  be  permanent,  was  600  feet 
by  100.  The  Art  Building  was  large  and  admirably  adapted 
for  its  purpose,  being  lighted  from  the  roof.  The  Mexican 
Government,  at  great  expense,  put  up  a  large  building  as 
quarters  for  a  detachment  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  for 
offices.  There  was  a  Woman's  Department,  under  the  su 
pervision  of  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe;  also  an  exhibit  of  ne 
groes'  handiwork.  The  displays  from  tropical  or  semi-trop 
ical  countries  were  naturally  the  most  profuse.  Mexico 
erected  a  tasteful  octagonal  edifice  expressly  for  its  wealth 
of  minerals.  Its  exhibits  together  covered  160,000  square 


THE   PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  339 

feet,  surpassing  in  extent  and  variety  those  from  any  other 
foreign  country.      Central  America  was  represented  more  i 
completely  than  at  any  previous  exposition,  and  the  products 
of  its  curious  civilization  interested  all  visitors. 

Giving  the  South  a  sense  of  its  importance  and  strength, 
and  making  friendly  a  host  of  guests  from  the  Xorth,  the 
Exposition  had  influence  upon  the  national  election  soon  to 
occur.  Of  this  none  could  forecast  the  issue  with  any  cer 
tainty,  but  the  canvass  was  sure  to  be  interesting.  The  Re 
publicans  were  much  divided.  President  Arthur,  whom  few 
wanted,  announced  himself  a  candidate  for  re-election.  Pre^ 
ceding  State  elections  ominously  favored  the  Democrats.  In 
1882,  both  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts  elected  Demo 
cratic  Governors.  The  same  year,  owing  to  "Half-breed" 
defection  from  Eolger,  the  Republican  candidate,  New  York, 
which,  in  1880,  Garfield  had  carried  against  Hancock  by  a 
plurality  of  over  21,000,  chose  Grover  Cleveland  its  Gov 
ernor  by  a  plurality  of  more  than  190,000  and  a  majority  of 
150,000.  This  election  began  Mr.  Cleveland's  fame,  quite 
as  much  from  the  accident  of  the  Republican  feud  referred 
to  as  from  aught  which  he  then  had  done  or  bade  fair  to  do. 

Illinois  put  forward  as  a  Presidential  candidate  General 
Logan,  so  popular  with  the  old  soldiers.  A  "compact  body 
of  Ohio  Republicans"  adhered  to  Senator  Sherman.  Sena 
tor  Edmunds,  thought  of  as  a  champion  of  civil  service  re 
form,  was  strong  in  Massachusetts  and  Vermont,  General 
J.  R.  Hawley  had  succeeded  Marshall  Jewell  as  Connecti 
cut's  favorite  son.  But  the  spontaneous,  widespread,  per 
sistent,  often  delirious  enthusiasm  for  James  G.  Elaine,  of 
Maine,  made  it  clear  that  unless  his  opponents  early  united 
upon  some  other  candidate  "the  Plumed  Knight"  would 
sweep  the  field. 

Mr.  Elaine,  long  and  prominently  in  the  public  eye,  had 
been  born  in  Washington  County,  Pa.,  January  31,  1830, 
a  great-grandson  of  Commissary-General  Elaine,  who,  during 
the  terrible  winter  at  Valley  Forge,  made  from  his  private 
substance  advances  to  keep  Washington's  soldiers  from  star- 


340  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

vation.  The  lad  was  educated  with  great  care  by  his  father 
and  his  maternal  grandfather,  Neal  Gillespie,  a  Koman 
Catholic  gentleman  of  wealth,  character,  and  ability.  In 
his  fourteenth  year  young  Blaine  entered  Washington  Col 
lege,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  graduated  with  honors.  After 
being  some  time  instructor  in  the  Western  Military  Insti 
tute,  Kentucky,  and  three  years  in  Philadelphia,  teaching 
and  writing  editorials,  he,  in  1854,  assumed  the  management 
of  the  "Kennebec  Journal,"  Augusta,  Me.  He  rapidly  fa 
miliarized  himself  with  Maine  politics  and  became  a  power 
in  the  Whig  and  Eepublican  councils  of  the  State.  His  skill 
as  a  debater  gave  him  fame.  He  entered  the  national  House 
of  Representatives  in  1862,  with  Garfield,  and  served  until 
1876,  being  Speaker  from  1869  to  1875.  From  1876  to 
1881  he  was  United  States  Senator.  In  Congress  he  dis 
tinguished  himself  by  his  familiarity  with  parliamentary 
tactics  and  his  unequaled  readiness  in  debate.  He  left  the 
Senate  to  enter  Gar  field's  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State. 

On  February  28,  1876,  Mr.  Elaine  was  informed  of  a 
rumor,  traceable  to  J.  S.  C.  Harrison,  a  director  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad,  to  the  effect  that  said  Harrison, 
shortly  after  he  became  a  director,  found  seventy-five  worth 
less  Little  Rock  &  Fort  Smith  Railroad  bonds  among  the 
assets  of  the  "Union  Pacific,  said  by  the  treasurer,  Rollins,  to 
have  been  received  from  James  G.  Blaine  as  security  for 
$64,000  loaned  him  and  never  repaid.  On  April  24th,  Mr. 
Blaine  read  before  the  House  a  letter  from  Rollins,  one  from 
Morton,  Bliss  &  Co.,  through  whom  the  draft  for  $64,000 
was  said  to  have  been  cashed,  and  one  from  Thomas  A.  Scott, 
who  had  been  president  of  the  Union  Pacific  at  the  time,  ac 
quitting  him  of  the  deed  charged,  and  denying  that  he  had 
had  any  other  business  transactions  with  them. 

At  the  same  time,  the  ex-Speaker  denied  the  further  ru 
mor  that  he  was  the  owner  of  Little  Rock  &  Fort  Smith  Rail 
road  bonds  received  without  consideration,  explaining  his 
relations  with  that  road,  all  which  he  declared  "open  as  the 
day"  and  perfectly  proper.  For  the  time  Mr.  Blaine  stood 


THE   PLUMED   KNIGHT  AND   HIS  JOUST.  341 

exculpated.  He  desired,  then,  to  avoid  a  Congressional  in 
vestigation,  as  it  could  not  possibly  end  by  the  time  of  the 
Republican  Convention  (of  1876),  a  body  not  likely  to  nomi 
nate  a  man  "under  investigation,"  however  innocent.  Never 
theless,  an  investigation,  by  the  Judiciary  Committee,  was 
ordered,  and  on  May  15th  begun.  The  statements  and  testi 
mony  already  offered  by  Mr.  Elaine  were  repeated  under 
oath,  Scott  swearing  that  the  bonds  in  question  were  his, 
received  from  Josiah  Caldwell,  and  that  he,  Scott,  had  shifted 
them  upon  the  company. 

A  fortnight  remained  before  the  1876  Convention,  and 
State  delegations  kept  cropping  up  for  Elaine.  A  rumor 
arose  implicating  him  in  corrupt  connection  with  the  North 
ern  Pacific.  Three  witnesses  came  from  Eoston ;  Elisha 
Atkins,  a  director  of  the  Union  Pacific ;  Warren  Fisher,  a 
former  business  relative  of  Elaine,  who  had  found  the  rela 
tions  unsatisfactory  and  terminated  them  long  before;  and 
James  Mulligan,  once  a  clerk  of  Jacob  Stanwood,  Elaine's 
brother-in-law,  and  afterward  of  Fisher.  Mulligan  testified 
that  he  had  understood  Atkins  to  say  that  seventy-five  bonds 
went  from  Elaine  to  Scott,  who  "worked  them  off  upon  the 
Union  Pacific."  Atkins  testified  that  he  never  said  it  to 
Mulligan,  but  that  Mulligan  said  it  to  him;  also  that  Mulli 
gan  had  an  old  grudge  against  Elaine. 

Upon  their  arrival,  Elaine  sent  to  have  Fisher  and  Mul 
ligan  come  to  his  house.  Only  Fisher  came,  who  admitted 
letting  Mulligan  have  a  number  of  letters  from  the  ex- 
Speaker  to  himself.  Elaine  went  to  Mulligan  and  demanded 
the  letters.  Mulligan  declared  that  "ho  would  not  give  them 
up  to  God  Almighty  or  his  father."  Elaine,  however,  man 
aged  to  get  possession  of  thorn.  Mulligan  stated  that  he 
surrendered  the  letters  under  Elaine's  promise  to  return 
them;  that  Elaine  entreated  him  not  to  put  them  in  evidence, 
as  it  would  ruin  him  and  his  family,  offering  to  get  Mulli 
gan  a  consulship  if  he  would  desist  and  threatening  suicide 
if  he  persisted  in  exposure;  and  that  Blnine  at  last  flatly  re 
fused  to  return  the  letters,  calling  upon  Fisher  and  Atkins 


342  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  witness  his  act.  Next  morning  Mr.  Elaine  submitted  to 
the  investigators  the  written  opinion  of  Hon.  J.  S.  Black,  a 
Democrat,  and  Hon.  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  a  Republican,  to 
the  effect  that  the  letters  had  "no  relevancy  whatever  to  the 
matter  under  inquiry/'  and  that  "it  would  be  most  unjust 
and  tyrannical  as  well  as  illegal  to  demand  their  production." 

The  Judiciary  Committee  was  now  in  utmost  perplexity. 
The  witnesses  were  discharged  and  the  matter  laid  over. 
Some  proposed  to  bring  it  before  the  House,  but  this  plan 
was  given  up  as  dangerous,  one  member  remarking  that  they 
at  least  knew  what  not  to  do,  and  that  was,  "not  to  have 
Elaine  cavorting  round  on  the  floor  of  the  House."  If  they 
could  only  have  prevented  this ! 

The  interim  was  Elaine's  opportunity.  A  foretaste  of 
what  followed  is  given  by  some  doggerel  in  which  a  news 
paper  of  the  time  represented  Confederate  Brigadiers  (a. 
majority  of  the  sub-committee  investigating  Elaine  had  been 
in  the  Southern  army)  as  reciting  in  Democratic  caucus : 

He  is  always  in  the  way — 

Elaine  of  Maine; 
And  in  session  every  day 

Raises  Cain; 

When  his  prodding  makes  us  roar, 
Then  he  lacerates  the  sore, 
Till  we  holler  more  and  more — 

Elaine  of  Maine. 

How  he  boxes  us  around — 

Elaine  of  Maine; 
Now  and  then  we're  on  the  ground, 

Half  insane; 

Frequently  to  grass  we  go; 
This  is  temporary,  though, 
For  we  rally  from  the  blow, 
And  prepare  to  eat  our  crow, 
But  he  stands  us  in  a  row, 
And  he  smites  us  high  and  low, 
Till  we  shiver  in  our  woe, 
And  he  keeps  us  whirling  so, 
That  we  have  the  vertigo — 

Elaine  of  Maine. 

After  the  morning  hour  on  Monday,  June  5th,  Mr.  Elaine 
rose  to  a  question  of  privilege.     He  began  his  remarks  by 


THE   PLUMED   KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  343 

observing  that  the  investigation,  though  authorized  in  gen 
eral  terms,  was  aimed  solely  and  only  at  himself.  "The  fa 
mous  witness,  Mulligan,"  he  said,  had  selected  out  of  years 
of  correspondence  letters  which  he  thought  would  he  pecul 
iarly  damaging  to  him,  Elaine,  but  they  had  nothing  to  do 
with  that  investigation.  He,  Elaine,  obtained  them  under 
circumstances  known  to  everybody,  and  defied  the  House  to 
compel  him  to  produce  them.  Had  Mr.  Elaine  stopped  here 
his  enemies  could  have  made  him  bite  the  dust.  Apparently 
he  had  allowed  himself  to  be  driven  into  a  fatal  cul-de-sac. 
Not  so.  Having  vindicated  his  right  to  the  letters,  he  pro 
ceeded,  in  his  most  dramatic  manner:  "Thank  God  Al 
mighty,  I  am  not  afraid  to  show  them.  There  they  are 
(holding  up  a  package  of  letters).  There  is  the  very  original 
package.  And  with  some  sense  of  humiliation,  with  a  mor 
tification  that  I  do  not  pretend  to  conceal,  with  a  sense  of 
outrage  which  I  think  any  man  in  my  position  would  feel, 
I  invite  the  confidence  of  forty-four  millions  of  my  country 
men  while  I  read  those  letters  from  this  desk."  For  the 
moment  triumph  turned  to  dismay,  dismay  to  triumph.  The 
audience  was  electrified.  The  letters  seemed  to  show  Mr. 
Elaine,  in  one  case,  at  least,  high-minded  and  generous  in 
assuming  the  losses  of  "innocent  persons  who  invested  on  his 
request." 

After  summing  up,  Mr.  Elaine  continued: 
"Now,  gentlemen,  those  letters  I  have  read  were  picked 
out  of  correspondence  extending  over  fifteen  years.  The  man 
did  his  worst,  the  very  worst  he  could,  out  of  the  most  inti 
mate  business  correspondence  of  my  life.  I  ask,  gentlemen, 
if  any  of  you — and  I  ask  it  with  some  feeling — can  stand  a 
severer  scrutiny  of  or  more  rigid  investigation  into  your  pri 
vate  correspondence  ?  That  was  the  worst  he  could  do."  A 
pause  ensued.  Then,  resuming,  he  said :  "There  is  one  piece 
of  testimony  wanting.  There  is  but  one  thing  to  close  the 
complete  circle  of  evidence.  There  is  but  one  witness  whom 
I  could  not  have,  to  whom  the  Judiciary  Committee,  taking 
into  account  the  great  and  intimate  connection  he  had  with 


344  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  transaction,  was  asked  to  send  a  cable  despatch — and  I 
ask  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  if  that  despatch  was  sent 
to  him?" 

"Who  2"  asked  Mr.  Frye,  in  an  undertone. 

"Josiah  Caldwell." 

Mr.  Knott  responded,  "I  will  reply  to  the  gentleman 
that  Judge  Hunton  and  myself  have  both  endeavored  to  get 
Mr.  Caldwell's  address  and  have  not  yet  got  it." 

"Has  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  received  a  despatch 
from  Mr.  Caldwell?" 

"I  will  explain  that  directly/'  replied  Mr.  Knott, 

"I  want  a  categorical  answer." 

"I  have  received  a  despatch  purporting  to  be  from  Mr. 
Caldwell." 

"You  did !" 

"How  did  you  know  I  got  it  ?" 

"'When  did  you  get  it  ?  I  want  the  gentleman  from  Ken 
tucky  to  answer  when  he  got  it." 

"Answer  my  question  first." 

"I  never  heard  of  it  until  yesterday." 

"How  did  you  hear  it  ?" 

Ignoring  the  question,  Mr.  Elaine  strode  down  the  aisle 
holding  up  a  despatch,  and  turning  to  Mr.  Knott  said,  with 
stinging  deliberation : 

"You  got  a  despatch  last  Thursday  morning  at  eight 
o'clock  from  Josiah  Caldwell  completely  and  absolutely  ex 
onerating  me  from  this  charge — and  you  Tiave  suppressed  it !" 

The  sensation  up  to  that  moment  had  been  great,  but  to 
what  now  occurred  it  was  as  the  fuse  to  the  explosion.  Gen 
eral  Garfield  "never  saw  such  a  scene  in  the  House."  Mr. 
Elaine  had  run  the  blockade,  and  for  the  moment  the  block- 
aders  seemed  likely  to  be  "swamped  in  the  wash"  as  he 
passed. 

Mr.  Elaine  failed,  after  all,  to  be  nominated  in  1876,  but 
as  Garfield' s  Secretary  of  State,  for  a  brief  period,  he  led  a 
lively  career.  In  1881,  after  a  bitter  war  between  the  two 
countries,  Peru  lay  at  the  mercy  of  Chile,  who  inexorably 


THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  345 

demanded,  among  the  conditions  of  peace,  the  cession  of  a 
territory  rich  in  deposits  of  guano.  This  was  deprecated, 
both  as  forcibly  disrupting  an  American  state  and  as  an 
example  upon  this  continent  of  war  for  the  sake  of  conquest, 
Mr.  Hurlbut,  our  Minister  to  Peru,  took  sides  with  that 
country.  Too  hastily  recognizing  as  the  proper  Peruvian 
Government  one  of  the  two  factions  claiming  this  status,  he 
proceeded  to  lay  down  the  terms  on  which  it  might  conclude 
peace  with  the  conqueror.  Provision  must  be  made  for  the  ad 
judication  of  American  claims  to  the  guano  fields,  especially 
the  Landreau  claim,  and  also  the  Cochet  claim,  to  which  a 
certain  "Peruvian  Company"  had  fallen  heir.  "HuiTbut's 
Peru"  gladly  entertained  these  claims,  going  so  far  as  to 
negotiate  with  him  for  the  cession  of  a  naval  station  to  be 
held  by  the  United  States,  till  the  litigation  was  settled. 
Naught  could  exceed  Chile's  indignation  at  this  procedure. 
She  at  once  arrested  Hurlbut's  Peruvian  Government  and 
carried  it  to  Santiago.  Mr.  Elaine  reproved  Hurlbut's  im 
moderation  and  sent  a  special  envoy  to  adjust  matters,  but 
he  preserved  toward  Chile  a  threatening  attitude  until  re 
lieved  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  The  new  Secretary  practically 
abandoned  all  intervention. 

Adventurers  who  had  been  at  work  for  the  Peruvian 
Company  made  broadcast  allegations  of  corruption  and  im 
proper  influences  resorted  to  by  them  in  pushing  their 
scheme.  The  House  of  Representatives  ordered  an  investi 
gation,  and  in  due  time  Mr.  Blaine  came  before  its  com 
mittee.  He  complained  that  at  an  earlier  session  of  the 
committee  Mr.  Belmont,  a  member,  had  garbled  and  mis 
construed  language  which  he  had  used  in  a  despatch.  Mr. 
Belmont  persisted  in  declaring  his  interpretation  correct. 
"I  am  not  in  a  police  court  to  be  badgered,"  said  the  ex- 
Secretary.  The  verbal  duel  became  a  running  fire  of  retorts, 
culminating  when  Mr.  Blaine  repeated  the  accusation  of  mis 
construing  his  despatches  and  characterized  Mr.  Belmont's 
words  as  untruthful.  Growing  livid,  Belmont  retorted  :  "I 
believe  you  are  a  bully  and  coward."  The  committee  ad- 


346  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

journed  in  consternation,  and  for  a  week  the  country  rang 
with  the  echoes  of  the  combat. 

Elaine  consistently  held  to  the  principle,  placing  him  at 
variance  with  most  of  his  official  friends,  that  the  Southrons 
themselves  must  remedy  the  evils  of  their  elections.  Later 
than  the  events  with  which  this  chapter  deals,  he  opposed 
the  principle  of  an  ultra-protective  tariff  as  wrought  into  the 
McKinley  Bill.  The  immediate  credit  of  the  reciprocity 
feature  in  that  law  belonged  to  him.  His  foreign  policy 
looked  to  a  federation  of  the  Western  Hemisphere.  He  elab 
orated  the  Bureau  of  American  Republics.  His  letter  of 
invitation  to  the  American  Peace  Congress,  issued  November 
29,  1881,  was  revoked  by  his  successor;  but  efforts  to  this 
end,  renewed  under  Harrison,  resulted  in  a  Pan-American 
Conference,  presided  over  by  Blaine  himself,  from  which 
Chile  alone  went  away  disaffected.  Mr.  Blaine's  life  and 
travels  from  1881  to  1884  can  not  be  remarked  upon  here. 
Though  the  year  1884  found  him  in  private  station,  he  was 
not  forgotten. 

The  Convention  of  1884  met  in  Chicago  on  June  3d. 
The  delegates  committed  to  Blaine  were  nearly  all  present  by 
the  2d  and  in  jubilant  mood.  The  despatches  of  that  day 
strongly  indicated  that  Blaine  would  win;  but  the  "New 
York  "Times,"  Blame's  doughtiest  foe  among  the  Republican 
papers,  would  not  admit  this.  It  urged  Edmunds  for  nomi 
nation,  or,  in  case  he  proved  unavailable,  Robert  T.  Lincoln, 
a  man  owing  no  political  debts.  The  "Times"  pointed  out 
that  men  born  after  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  could  vote  this 
year,  and  that,  therefore,  even  a  sound  candidate,  to  win, 
needed  something  besides  fame  won  in  debating  war  issues. 

It  was  eleven  o'clock  on  the  3d  before  any  number  of 
delegates  entered  the  vast  hall.  Crowds — smaller,  indeed, 
than  in  1880 — filled  the  galleries.  The  New  York  delega 
tion  formed  at  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  and  marched  two  by 
two  to  the  wigwam.  The  gazing  populace  fell  back  to  let 
them  pass,  while  cheering  lustily  for  the  Empire  State.  First 
came  George  William  Curtis,  chairman,  arm  in  arm  with 


THE   PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND   HIS  JOUST.  347 

Titus  Sheard;  next  Theodore  Roosevelt  paired  with  Presi 
dent  Andrew  D.  White,  of  Cornell.  Beneath  the  blue  en 
sign,  bearing  in  great  gold  letters  the  legend  "New  York/' 
Curtis  took  his  seat.  On  the  same  row,  but  as  far  from 
Curtis  as  he  could  get,  sat  ex-Senator  Platt,  "devoting  his 
time  chiefly  to  the  stroking  of  his  short,  silky  beard."  The 
band  played  "Prithee,  pretty  maiden,  will  you  marry  me/7 
as  General  Mahone,  at  the  head  of  his  Virginia  delegation, 
came  in,  wearing  his  broad-brimmed  white  hat  and  his  curi 
ously  fashioned  trousers  and  coat,  an  immense  yellow  rose 
adorning  the  lapel  of  the  last-named  garment.  Order  was 
called  at  a  quarter  past  twelve. 

Most  of  the  Arthur  delegates,  before  the  proceedings  be 
gan,  considered  their  candidate  beaten;  yet  the  Convention's 
first  act  heartened  them  a  little.  Stephen  B.  Elkins,  manag 
ing  for  Blaine,  had  worked  up  a  Blaine-Logan  combination, 
influenced  by  which  the  National  Committee  was  induced  to 
recommend  to  the  Convention  Elaine's  friend,  Powell  Clay 
ton,  of  Arkansas,  for  temporary  chairman.  This  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge  opposed  by  nominating  the  Honorable  J.  R. 
Lynch,  a  colored  Senator  from  Mississippi,  George  William 
Curtis  and  Theodore  Roosevelt  seconding  the  nomination  in 
telling  speeches.  On  roll-call,  Lynch  was  found  to  have  de 
feated  Clayton  by  a  number  of  votes.  The  Blaineites  re 
ceived  another  slight  snub.  A  resolution  like  that  which 
Conkling  invented  in  1880  was  introduced  at  their  instance, 
that  every  delegate  taking  part  in  the  convention  was  "bound 
in  honor  to  support  the  nominee."  Against  this  George 
William  Curtis  protested,  saying,  "A  Republican  and  a  free 
man  I  came  to  this  convention,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  a 
Republican  and  a  free  man  will  I  go."  The  resolution  was 
withdrawn. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  Elaine's  star  was  clearly  in  the 
ascendant.  To  defeat  his  nomination  all  his  opponents 
needed  to  unite  upon  Arthur.  Arthur  had  considerable 
strength  owing  to  his  patronage  as  President,  but  it  proved 
a  broken  reed.  The  Arthur  men  pleaded  with  Curtis,  Cabot 


348  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Lodge,  and  Roosevelt,  who  did  their  best  against  Elaine,  to 
turn  from  Edmunds  to  Arthur.  "Clinging  to  Edmunds  you 
will  surely  nominate  Elaine,"  they  said.  But  between  Elaine 
and  Arthur  the  Edmunds  men  saw  little  to  choose,  believing, 
wisely,  so  it  now  seems,  that  if  nominated  Arthur  would  be 
defeated.  They  tried  to  bring  out  Eobert  T.  Lincoln,  a 
dark  horse  groomed  by  the  New  York  "Times."  All  in  vain. 
At  each  ballot  Elaine  gained  while  Arthur  lost.  Edmunds, 
Logan,  and  John  Sherman  also  lost.  Hawley  gained  two 
votes  on  the  fourth  ballot.  Lincoln  jumped  from  four  to 
eight  on  the  third,  but  sank  to  two  on  the  fourth.  There 
was  "noted  a  curious  tendency  in  the  knees  of  some  of  the 
Edmunds  men,  particularly  those  from  Massachusetts,  to 
knock  together  audibly  whenever  the  name  of  Elaine  was 
mentioned  in  their  hearing,"  and  they,  little  by  little,  de 
serted  their  favorite.  Under  the  management  of  Powell 
Clayton,  Arkansas  started  a  bolt  of  Southern  delegates  away 
from  Arthur.  Assured  that  himself  could  not  win,  Logan 
turned  over  to  Elaine  his  Illinois  delegation.  Upon  the 
fourth  ballot  "the  Plumed  Knight"  was  nominated.  The 
name  of  John  A.  Logan,  "the  Black  Eagle,"  occupied  the 
second  place  upon  the  ticket. 

The  announcement  of  Elaine's  nomination  unleashed  the 
latent  insanity  of  ten  thousand  people  within  the  hall.  Hats 
were  thrown  high  in  air,  umbrellas  whirled  around,  the  State 
shields  torn  down  and  borne  proudly  upon  filial  breasts.  The 
crowd  outside  caught  the  contagion,  and  soon  a  shrill  chorus 
of  tug  whistles  could  be  heard  from  the  Chicago  River.  The 
climax  was  reached  when  some  one  brought  and  laid  upon 
the  chairman's  desk  a  floral  helmet,  with  snowy  plume  of 
finest  imported  horsehair.  The  noise  redoubled,  men  took 
off  their  coats  and  waved  them,  women  laughed,  or  cried,  or 
fainted,  impartially.  Thus  was  sounded  the  keynote  of  the 
Republican  campaign.  A  spectator  might  have  noticed  one 
or  two  silent  patches  in  the  great  hall  in  the  midst  of  the  over 
whelming  enthusiasm.  These  patches,  flouted  at  the  time, 
grew  more  significant  when  immediately  after  the  Convention 


THE   PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  349 

many  conspicuous  party  men,  especially  in  the  East,  and  sev 
eral  considerable  party  organs,  led  by  the  New  York  "Times," 
declared  that  they  would  not  support  the  ticket. 

Spite  of  all  that  could  be  said  in  his  favor,  Elaine's  nom 
ination  evoked  the  bitterest  rancor.  The  Stalwarts  had  never 
forgiven  him  their  discomfiture  at  his  hands  in  1880,  but 
they  were  not  now  his  most  serious  opponents.  Those  whom 
he  had  deepest  reason  to  fear  had  been  disaffected  by  his 
jingo  foreign  policy,  or  because  they  believed  him  corrupt, 
or  partly  for  one  of  these  reasons  and  partly  for  the  other. 
"I  was  at  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party,"  remarked 
Curtis,  "and  I  fear  I  am  to  witness  its  death."  On  June 
5th,  the  "Times"  said  editorially,  "The  thoughtful  oppo 
nents  of  Elaine  have  seen  with  alarm  that  he  is  supported 
by  all  the  political  adventurers,  star-route  sympathizers,  and 
admirers  of  loose  methods  in  government."  On  June  7th, 
the  morning  after  the  nomination,  it  added:  "The  'Times' 
will  not  support  Mr.  Elaine  for  the  Presidency.  It  will  ad 
vise  no  man  to  vote  for  him."  After  boldly  predicting  his 
defeat,  it  further  declared:  "That  defeat  will  be  the  salva 
tion  of  the  Republican  Party.  It  will  arouse  its  torpid  con 
science,  it  will  stir  it  to  self -purification,  it  will  depose  the 
false  leaders  who  have  fastened  themselves  upon  it,  it  will 
send  the  rogues  to  the  background,  and  will  make  the  party 
once  more  worthy  of  honor  and  of  power  in  the  Republic  it 
has  so  nobly  served."  The  New  York  "Evening  Post,"  the 
Eoston  "Advertiser,"  the  Eoston  "Herald,"  and  the  Spring 
field  "Republican"  also  joined  the  bolt, 

"Mr.  Elaine  was  the  incarnation  of  all  the  good  and 
all  the  evil  of  the  Republican  organization.  He,  as  much 
as  any  surviving  statesman  of  the  period  immediately  suc 
ceeding  the  War  of  Secession,  aided  in  framing  the  legisla 
tion  which  resulted  in  the  perpetual  extinguishment  of  slav 
ery,  and  made  its  return  in  the  crude  form  of  human  bondage 
thenceforth  impossible.  On  the  other  hand,  those  organiza 
tions  which  were  developed  outside  of  governmental  institu 
tions,  but  which  possessed  vast  influence  and  strength,  such 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

as  the  railway  corporations  and  the  large  landed  property 
organizations,  the  telegraph  and  other  instrumentalities  of 
commerce,  more  or  less  dependent  upon  Congressional  favor 
or  Congressional  non-action  for  their  financial  success,  had 
in  him  a  steadfast  ally.  His  administration  of  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  State  under  President  Garfield  was  also  of  a 
character  to  give  conservative  men  considerable  apprehen 
sion.  During  the  period  from  1865  to  1884,  the  greatest  ex 
travagance  with  reference  to  gifts  of  land  and  concessions 
to  corporate  greed  prevailed  and  was  indulged  in  by  the 
National  Legislature.  It  is  true  that  in  that  period  no 
well-formed  public  opinion  antagonized  this  abuse  of  power, 
inasmuch  as  the  danger  resulting  from  these  aggregations 
of  capital  and  quasi  public  trusts  in  the  hands  of  persons  not 
responsible  to  the  people  was  not  at  that  time  felt,  or  had,  at 
all  events,  not  so  clearly  manifested  itself  as  during  a  later 
period.  Mr.  Elaine  was,  during  the  whole  of  this  period,  an 
active  legislator  and  political  leader,  and  was,  therefore,  most 
vulnerable  to  criticism  by  a  better-informed  public  opinion 
in  consequence  of  his  participation  in  this  mischievous  drift 
of  public  legislation."  1 

As  early  as  December,  1883,  certain  Eepublicans  of  Bos 
ton  had  started  a  movement  "in  behalf  of  the  adoption  of 
measures  and  the  nomination  of  men  fitted  to  command  the 
hearty  approval  and  support  of  the  independent,  thoughtful, 
and  discriminating  voters  of  the  United  States."  As  a  re 
sult,  a  conference  of  Independent  Eepublicans  was  called 
in  New  York  on  February  23d,  which  "Resolved,  That  it  is 
indispensable  to  the  success  of  the  Republican  party  that  the 
character,  record,  and  associations  of  its  candidates  for  Presi 
dent  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  should  be  such 
as  to  warrant  entire  confidence  in  their  readiness  to  defend 
the  advance  already  made  toward  divorcing  the  public  service 
from  party  politics,  and  to  continue  these  advances  until  the 
separation  has  been  made  final  and  complete." 

1  Simon  Sterne. 


THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  351 

General  Francis  C.  Barlow,  of  New  York,  was  made 
chairman  of  a  committee  "to  provide  for  the  interchange  and 
practical  expression  of  opinion  in  harmony  with  the  forego 
ing  resolution,  and  to  continue  such  action  in  relation  thereto 
as  they  may  deem  expedient."  On  May  12th,  the  committee 
sent  a  circular  to  the  Republican  National  Convention.  Be 
ing  ignored  in  the  Convention,  a  conference  of  Independent 
Republicans,  held  in  New  York  on  June  16th,  and  presided 
over  by  George  William  Curtis,  adopted  the  following  reso 
lutions  : 

" Whereas,  We  are  met  in  conference  as  Republicans  and 
Independents  to  take  action  in  opposition  to  the  nominations 
of  James  G.  Blaine  for  President,  and  John  A.  Logan  for 
Vice-President,  of  the  United  States;  and 

"Whereas,  These  candidates  were  named  in  absolute  dis 
regard  of  the  reform  sentiment  of  the  nation,  and  represent 
ing  political  methods  and  principles  to  which  we  are  unalter 
ably  opposed: 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  our  conviction  that  the  country  will 
be  better  served  by  opposing  these  nominations  than  by  sup 
porting  them. 

"Resolved,  That  we  look  with  solicitude  to  the  coming 
nominations  by  the  Democratic  Party;  they  have  the  proper 
men ;  we  hope  they  will  put  them  before  the  people  for  elec 
tion." 

This  overture  had  a  profound  effect  upon  the  Democratic 
managers.  By  pitting  against  Blaine  a  man  hostile  to  ma 
chine  politics  and  committed  to  administrative  reform,  they 
had  a  clear  chance  to  win.  Such  a  man  was  Grover  Cleve 
land.  He  had  been  bom  in  Caldwell,  1ST.  J.,  March  18, 
1837,  his  father  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  When  the  fu 
ture  President  was  four  years  old  his  father  removed  to 
Fayetteville,  N.  Y.  Here  the  lad  found  employment  in  the 
"general  store"  at  $50  a  year,  sweeping  and  cleaning  out, 
opening  and  closing  the  store,  and  waiting  on  customers. 

A  former  boy  companion  of  Cleveland's,  an  old  farmer, 
told  of  having  once  soundly  thrashed  the  future  President. 


352  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

He  said  "it  was  one  of  those  old-fashioned  rough-and-tumble 
fights,  in  which  each  fellow  pulls  hair,  scratches,  kicks,  and 
cuffs  to  his  heart's  content.  I  was  a  much  more  powerful 
lad  than  Grover.  Soon  I  had  him  down.  I  kept  yelling 
out  to  him,  ' You  will  stick  pins  in  my  seat,  will  you !  You 
will,  will  you!'  And,  each  time,  I  hit  him  another  bat  in 
the  eye  or  neck.  Well,  Shell  Pratt  and  Jewett  Dunbar 
finally  pulled  me  off,  made  us  shake  hands,  and  declared  the 
fight  over  with  victory  for  me."  The  vanquished  remem 
bered  this  history,  and  long  subsequently  invited  the  victor 
to  take  dinner  with  him  at  the  chief  mansion  in  the  United 
States. 

One  who  was  Cleveland's  boy  room-mate  at  Fayetteville 
said :  "We  lay  upon  a  tick  stuffed  with  straw,  which  had  the 
uncomfortable  peculiarity  of  accumulating  in  knobs  here  and 
there.  I  recall  how,  often,  in  the  night,  Grover  would  stir 
uneasily  in  his  hard  bed,  maybe  even  getting  up  and  with  his 
hand  reaching  down  in  the  tick  to  remove  the  troublesome 
lump  on  which  he  had  been  resting.  In  that  room,  without 
carpet,  without  wall-paper,  without  pictures,  drear  and  deso 
late,  we  two  lived  together  one  whole  year.  In  the  winter 
we  sometimes  fairly  froze.  There  was  no  stove  in  the  room, 
heat  coming  up  from  a  pipe  leading  from  the  store  below. 
Rats  ran  in  the  walls  and  often  peered  at  us  from  out  holes 
in  the  plaster." 

Young  Cleveland's  education,  so  far  as  it  went,  was  com 
pleted  at  Clinton,  ~N.  Y.  In  his  seventeenth  year  he  became 
a  clerk  and  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  New  York  Institution 
for  the  Blind.  In  1855,  he  started  West  to  secure  more  lu 
crative  employment,  but  was  induced  to  stop  at  Buffalo.  He 
was  soon  at  work  in  a  law  office  there,  as  clerk  and  copyist, 
at  $4  per  week.  Two  years  later  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
retaining  for  some  time  his  clerkship,  first  at  $600  a  year, 
then  at  $1,000.  In  1863,  he  was  chosen  Assistant  District 
Attorney  of  Erie  County,  in  1870  Sheriff  of  the  county. 
In  1881,  by  a  union  of  Republicans,  Democrats,  Indepen 
dents,  and  "Reformers,"  he  was  elected  Mayor  of  Buffalo. 


THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  353 

His  conviction,  to  which  he  in  good  degree  adhered,  was  that 
a  city's  affairs  should  be  administered  with  the  least  practica 
ble  regard  for  mere  politics,  "as  a  good  business  man  man 
ages  his  private  concerns."  Pursuing  this  policy  he  soon 
became  known  as  the  "Veto  Mayor,"  saving  the  city  much 
money  by  his  fearless  use  of  the  negative.  In  1882,  as  we 
have  seen,  by  the  support  of  the  same  elements  which  elected 
him  Mayor  and  by  the  chance  of  a  bitter  Kepublican  quarrel 
in  his  State,  Mr.  Cleveland  was  triumphant  in  his  canvass 
for  the  Governorship.  As  Governor  he  practiced  a  strict  Jef- 
fersonian  simplicity,  keeping  no  carriage  and  living  within 
his  official  salary.  To  each  public  question  on  which  he  had 
to  act  he  gave  personal  attention  and  study,  thus  performing 
an  amount  of  work  which  would  have  killed  a  weaker  man. 

Unlike  his  rival  for  the  Presidency,  Mr.  Cleveland  had 
held  no  office  requiring  him  to  take  ground  upon  any  momen 
tous  public  question  or  concern  before  the  people.  As  Gov 
ernor  of  ^N"ew  York  he  had  proved  an  excellent  official,  and 
except  his  inexperience  in  Federal  affairs  nothing  could  be 
said  of  him  to  indicate  that  he  would  not  do  well  as  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Cleveland  represented 
more  thoroughly  than  did  his  adversary  the  growing  feeling 
in  favor  of  retiring  the  questions  which  arose  from  the  war, 
and  of  so  dealing  with  political  matters  as  to  conserve  the 
interests  of  the  whole  community  instead  of  the  interests  of 
mere  classes. 

The  Democratic  Convention  met  in  Chicago  on  July  8th. 
The  call  had  "cordially  invited"  "all  Democratic  conserva 
tive  citizens  of  the  United  States,  irrespective  of  past  asso 
ciations  and  differences,"  who  could  unite  "in  the  effort  for 
pure,  economical,  and  constitutional  government,"  to  join  in 
sending  delegates.  Democratic  public  opinion  had  fixed  upon 
Cleveland  as  the  party's  standard-bearer,  and  its  mandate  to 
nominate  him  was  strengthened  by  the  Republican  revolt 
against  Elaine.  Tammany  vehemently  opposed  Cleveland, 
Thomas  F.  Grady  making  before  the  Convention  a  long  ti 
rade  against  him,  which,  however,  quickened  the  cause  it  was 


354  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

meant  to  kill.  General  Bragg,  of  Wisconsin,  speaking  for 
the  young  men  of  his  State,  said :  "They  love  Cleveland  and 
respect  him  not  only  for  himself,  for  his  character,  for  his 
integrity,  and  judgment  and  iron  will,  but  they  love  him  most 
for  the  enemies  he  has  made."  Though  requiring  a  two- 
thirds  vote,  Cleveland's  nomination  necessitated  but  a  second 
ballot,  this  giving  him  683  votes  in  a  total  of  820.  His  closest 
competitor,  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  received  the  nomination 
for  Vice-President. 

The  old,  staid  Democracy  did  not  hail  Cleveland's  nomi 
nation  with  enthusiasm.  There  was  a  feeling  among  them 
that  he  was  more  a  Mugwump  than  a  Democrat,  and  that 
his  nomination  had  been  secured  by  efforts  of  Democrats 
little  in  touch  with  the  masses.  Hendricks  was  named  not 
because  he  was  the  choice  of  the  men  who  manipulated  the 
Convention,  but  for  the  reason  that,  having  put  in  the  first 
place  the  man  they  wanted,  they  wished  the  aid  of  Hendricks 
and  such  as  he  in  carrying  the  election.  Four  years  later 
Allen  G.  Thurman  was  nominated  for  the  same  reason. 

On  July  22d,  the  Independents,  or  "Mugwumps,"  as 
they  now  began  to  be  called,  issued  an  address  recommending 
Republican  and  Independent  voters  to  support  Cleveland. 
The  response  wTas  wide  and  enthusiastic.  The  Independents 
took  an  active  part  in  the  canvass,  distributing  innumerable 
documents  and  furnishing  many  of  the  best  speakers.  In 
this  service  Carl  Schurz  was  foremost.  George  William 
Curtis,  too,  who  had  not  followed  Greeley  in  1872,  threw 
the  weight  of  his  influence  for  the  Democratic  nominee.  It 
is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  by  no  means  all  Republicans  of 
independent  tendencies  took  this  course.  A  great  number, 
men  of  eminence  and  spotless  integrity,  deemed  Elaine  the 
object  of  unjust  attacks,  and  warmly  espoused  his  cause. 
Such  were  Senator  Hoar,  William  Walter  Phelps,  and  the 
poet  Whittier.1  Many  other  Reform  Republicans  regarded 

1  On  November  28,  1884,  Whittier  wrote:  "I  am  awfully  vexed  by 
the  result  of  the  election.  Our  candidate  made  such  a  splendid  canvass, 
and  would  have  been  triumphantly  chosen  over  Democrats  and  Inde 
pendents,  but  for  the  miserable  John-Johns." 


THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  355 

the  Democracy  with  such  distrust  that  they  supported  Elaine 
when  nominated,  though  opposing  his  nomination.  Theo 
dore  Roosevelt  and  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  represented  this  class. 
Senator  Edmunds,  while  doing  naught  to  hinder  Elaine's 
election,  could  not  be  led  to  speak  or  write  a  word  in  his 
behalf.  Even  the  anti-Elaine  Republicans  took  pains  to  ad 
vertise  that  they  supported  Cleveland  not  as  a  Democrat,  but 
as  "a  platform  in  himself"  and  "better  than  his  party."  They 
wished  not  so  much  to  put  the  Democratic  party  in  power 
as  to  put  Cleveland  personally  in  power.  They  supported 
Cleveland  not  because  he  was  a  Democrat,  but  because  he  was 
Cleveland,  rejecting  Elaine  not  as  a  Republican,  but  simply 
as  Elaine. 

Mr.  Elaine's  nomination  made  the  campaign  personal. 
To  balance  the  hard  things  said  of  him,  the  early  pages  of 
Cleveland's  life  were  searched  for  blots.  A  few  were  perhaps 
found,  yet  the  general  fruitlessness  of  the  quest  was  impres 
sively  in  the  candidate's  favor.  With  aught  of  corruption 
in  public  life  no  one  thought  of  charging  him,  his  record  in 
this  particular  being  absolutely  stainless.  Elaine  was  less 
happy  here.  If  he  was  far  from  being  the  unprincipled 
trickster  so  often  pictured,  he  had  been  less  scrupulous  in 
office  than  his  best  admirers  could  have  wished. 

Mr.  Elaine  took  an  intensely  practical  view  of  politics. 
With  the  "sublimated  theories  of  so-called  reformers"  he 
never  sympathized.  Of  these  "unco  guid,"  as  he  called  them, 
he  wrote  Garfield,  in  1880:  "They  are  to  be  treated  with 
respect,  but  they  are  the  worst  possible  political  advisers 
— upstarts,  conceited,  foolish,  vain,  without  knowledge  of 
measures,  ignorant  of  men,  shouting  a  shibboleth  which  rep 
resents  nothing  of  practical  reform  that  you  are  not  a  thou 
sand  times  pledged  to !  They  are  noisy,  but  not  numerous ; 
Pharisaical,  but  not  practical ;  ambitious,  but  not  wise ;  pre 
tentious,  but  not  powerful !"  Over  Elaine  men  went  insane 
in  pairs,  for  his  "magnetism"  either  strongly  attracted  or 
strongly  repelled  whatever  came  within  his  field.  Hatred 
of  him  was  rancorous,  and  it  usually  told,  since  his  long 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

public  career,  like  an  extended  sea-coast,  was  at  a  disadvan 
tage  on  the  defensive.  Love  for  the  man  was  equally  un 
compromising,  most  so  at  the  West,  while  the  defection  from 
him  was  most  pronounced  in  the  East.  People  not  the  re 
verse  of  sensible  likened  him  to  Clay,  some  of  them  to  Wash 
ington.  In  West  Virginia  a  man  risked  his  life  by  holding 
to  the  rear  platform  of  Elaine's  private  car  as  it  left  the 
station,  begging  for  some  memento  of  the  hero  to  hang  in 
his  house  and  show  his  children.  Mr.  Elaine  himself  thus 
described  another  illustrative  incident:  "I  had  the  felicity 

of  N 's  company,  who  dwelt  at  length  on  the  greatness 

and  grandeur  of  my  character.  He  intimated  that  com 
pared  with  me  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  were  'small  pota 
toes7 — all  of  which  in  a  car  and  in  a  loud  voice,  with  many 
people  listening,  may  be  called  pleasant  entertainment." 

Well  had  it  been  for  James  G.  Elaine  had  he  always 
remembered  the  sage  words  of  Salmon  P.  Chase,  uttered 
when  he  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  as  a  reason  for  refus 
ing  to  accept  $4,200,  which  represented  an  increase  in  value 
on  stocks  that  he  had  ordered  but  not  paid  for :  "To  be  able 
to  render  the  most  efficient  service  to*  our  country  it  is  essen 
tial  for  me  to  be  right  as  well  as  to  seem  right,  and  to  seem 
right  as  well  as  to  be  right."  It  was  recited  that,  in  1869, 
when  a  bill  to  renew  a  land  grant  for  the  Little  Rock  &  Fort 
Smith  Railroad  was  to  be  saddled  with  a  fatal  amendment, 
Speaker  Elaine,  at  the  request  of  Arkansas  members,  had 
Logan  make,  while  he  sustained,  a  point  of  order  removing 
the  incubus;  that  he  subsequently  called  the  promoters'  at 
tention  to  his  agency  in  the  matter,  endeavoring  to  be  let 
into  the  enterprise  "on  the  ground  floor,"  in  which  he  failed, 
though  appointed  selling  agent  of  the  bonds  with  a  large 
commission.  Elaine's  friends  replied  that  the  ruling  was 
proper,  being  made  to  frustrate  a  vicious  lobby  job  and  save 
a  desirable  piece  of  legislation  which  had  passed  the  Senate 
unanimously.  Judge  Black,  a  Democrat,  deemed  the  refu 
tation  of  the  charge  wholly  satisfactory.  Unfortunately, 
Mr.  Elaine's  assertion  that  the  Little  Rock  road  derived  all 


THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  357 

its  benefits  from  Arkansas  and  not  from  Congress  was  inac 
curate,  since  the  bill  so  narrowly  saved  was  one  renewing  the 
land  grant  to  the  State  for  the  railroad.  Elaine's  assailants 
considered  this  statement  clearly  a  falsehood.  Hard  to  jus 
tify  was  Mr.  Elaine's  denial  of  "any  transaction  of  any  kind 
with  Thomas  A.  Scott"  concerning  Little  Kock  bonds  or 
railway  business.  That,  through  Scott  and  Caldwell,  he  did 
put  off  upon  the  Union  Pacific  some  Little  Rock  bonds  at  a 
high  price  seems  certain  from  a  letter  which  he  received  from 
Fisher,  with  his  reply. 

Elaine  unquestionably  offered  to  get  Caldwell  an  allot 
ment  in  a  new  distribution  of  national  bank  circulation,  writ 
ing:  "It  will  be  to  some  extent  a  matter  of  favoritism  who 
gets  the  banks  in  the  several  localities,  and  it  will  be  in  my 
power  to  cast  'an  anchor  to  the  windward'  in  your  behalf  if 
you  desire  it."  Indelicate,  if  you  please,  one  does  not  see 
how  this  offer  necessarily  involved  corruption.  It  would 
seem  that  Elaine  permitted  himself  to  be  paid  twice  over 
for  a  loan  of  $25,000,  once  by  sale  of  the  collateral,  realizing 
$30,000,  and  once,  by  judgment  of  the  court,  from  the  reor 
ganized  Little  Rock  Company.  The  utmost  was  made  of  a 
letter  and  a  telegram  from  Elaine  to  Fisher,  both  dated  April 
16,  1876,  coaching  Fisher  as  to  the  form  of  vindication  for 
himself.  "I  want  you  to  send  me  such  a  letter  as  the  in 
closed  draft,"  he  wrote,  and,  at  the  bottom,  "Burn  this  let 
ter."  At  the  time  of  the  famous  Caldwell  cablegram,  too,  it 
was  discovered  that  an  anonymous  despatch  had  been  sent 
Caldwell  similar  in  tenor  to  the  one  returned.  Suspicion 
was  thus  aroused  that  all  vindicatory  statements  used  on  be 
half  of  Elaine  had  been  prepared  by  him. 

A  Tammany  orator  said  that  no  Irishman  or  Catholic 
would  vote  for  Cleveland.  Mr.  Elaine  was  hostile  to  the 
political  solidarity  of  any  race  or  religion,  and  in  this  respect 
his  influence — attracting  Romanists  to  his  party  and  repelling 
anti-Catholic  zealots — was  wholly  good.  His  religion,  he 
said,  was  Christianity  tinctured  with  the  Presbyterianism  of 
the  Elaines  and  the  Catholicism  of  the  Gillespies.  "I  would 


358     •  HISTORY   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

not  for  a  thousand  Presidencies,"  he  declared,  "speak  a  dis 
respectful  word  of  my  mother's  religion."  Had  he  lived 
and  continued  dominant  in  Kepublican  councils  neither  "A. 
P.  A. -ism"  nor  any  Eomish  counterpart  thereof  could  have 
arisen. 

Whether  or  not  any  influence  for  Elaine  emanated  from 
the  Catholic  clergy,  many  Irishmen  and  Catholics  sedulously 
wrought  to  elect  him.  This  drove  some  Protestant  voters  to 
Cleveland.  Nevertheless  the  vast  majority  of  the  Protestant 
clergy  throughout  the  North  strongly  favored  Elaine.  As 
the  campaign  drew  to  its  close  a  goodly  party  of  them  waited 
on  their  candidate  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  to  assure  him 
of  their  unwavering  devotion.  One  Dr.  Eurchard  made  the 
address-in-chief .  Apparently  holding  the  Democracy  respon 
sible  for  all  the  evils  of  intemperance,  religious  bigotry,  and 
the  war,  he  ascribed  to  it  the  threie  damning  "K's,"  "Hum, 
Komanism,  and  Kebellion."  A  story  not  wholly  dissimilar 
was  told  of  Elaine's  father,  to  the  effect  that  when  running 
for  protonotary  he  seemed  likely  to  suffer  from  a  charge 
that  he  was  a  Catholic  because  his  wife  was.  Mr.  Elaine 
went  to  the  family  priest  for  a  certificate  of  non-member 
ship,  which  was  duly  furnished,  as  follows:  "This  is  to  cer 
tify  that  Ephraim  L.  Elaine  is  not  now  and  never  was  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Furthermore,  in  my  opin 
ion,  he  is  not  fit  to  be  a  member  of  any  church."  The  cer 
tificate  was  effectual,  and  Mr.  Elaine  triumphantly  elected. 
Not  so  happy  the  denouement  in  our  Elaine's  case.  Burch- 
ard's  ridiculous  alliteration  "stuck"  in  an  ugly  way  in  peo 
ple's  minds,  and,  much  as  was  done  to  show  its  insignificance, 
no  doubt  lost  Elaine  many  votes.  Some  thought  these  enough, 
if  saved,  to  have  made  him  President. 

The  Tammany  men,  after  all,  mostly  voted  for  Cleve 
land.  Many  Democrats  foresaw  that  without  Tammany's 
support  New  York  would  be  lost  and  thereby  the  election. 
Governor  Hendricks,  candidate,  for  the  Vice-Presidency, 
strongly  felt  this,  and  though  a  thousand  miles  away,  de 
cided  to  visit  the  Empire  State  as  a  peacemaker.  He  sought 


THE  PLUMED  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  JOUST.  359 

John  Kelly,  then  the  absolute  chief  of  Tammany  Hall,  finding 
him  greatly  alienated  from  the  party.  Kelly  insisted  that 
Grover  Cleveland  was  not  a  Democrat,  that  he  had  no  claim 
upon  true  Democrats  for  their  support,  and  that  if  he  should 
be  elected  he  would  betray  his  party.  Their  conference 
lasted  far  into  the  night.  Mr.  Hendricks  employed  all  his 
eloquence  and  art  to  persuade  Mr.  Kelly  to  favor  the  ticket. 
Finally  the  chief  said:  "Governor  Hendricks,  for  your  sake 
we  will  do  it.  You  may  go  home  with  my  assurance  that 
Tammany  Hall  will  do  its  duty." 

The  early  returns  gave  Cleveland  the  solid  South,  besides 
Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  and  Indiana.  The  rest  of  the 
North  was  Republican,  save  New  York,  which  was  in  pain 
ful  doubt  and  remained  so  for  days.  The  Empire  State 
was  the  umpire  State.  The  excitement  pending  conclusive 
returns  exceeded  even  that  of  1876.  Good-humored  bluff 
and  chaffing  gave  way  to  dangerous  irritation  as  the  suspense 
dragged  on.  Thursday,  November  6th,  saw  an  outbreak  in 
Indianapolis,  when  the  loyal  hosts  of  Democracy  sought  to 
carry  their  banner  into  the  post-office.  This  premature 
effort  to  capture  that  citadel  failed,  and  the  banner  was 
torn  to  bits,  which  Republican  defenders  wore  as  badges. 
In  Kansas,  St.  John,  the  Prohibitionist  candidate  for  Presi 
dent,  was  burned  in  effigy.  The  "Rebel  Brigadiers'7  were 
the  most  hilarious,  making  the  Southern  sky  lurid  with  fire 
works,  and  the  air  vocal  with  salutes,  none  under  a  hundred 
guns.  Montgomery  on  November  6th  doubled  the  number 
of  guns  in  each  salute,  and  on  the  7th  four  hundred  were 
required  to  voice  her  joy.  In  Boston  the  streets  near  news 
paper  offices  were  packed  solid.  Every  new  bulletin  evoked 
cheers  and  hoots.  A  picture,  IIOAV  of  Blaine,  now  of  Cleve 
land,  would  be  raised  in  air  only  to  be  at  once  seized  and 
shredded.  A  croAvd  threw  stones  and  rotten  eggs  at  the 
"Journal"  Building,  breaking  a  large  plate-glass  window.  In 
New  York  conflicting  statements  given  out  by  the  great 
dailies  inflamed  the  populace.  The  "Tribune"  and  the  "Mail 
and  Express"  early  ceased  to  issue  bulletins,  but  the  "Herald" 


360  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  the  " World"  kept  on,  showing  majorities  for  Cleveland. 
The  "Sun"  office,  where  Associated  Press  despatches  favor 
able  to  Elaine  alternated  with  the  "Sun's"  own  despatches 
giving  the  State  to  Cleveland,  drew  the  vastest  throngs.  Six 
hundred  men  marched  down  Broadway  shouting  "No,  no, 
Elaine  won't  go!"  It  being  suspected  that  Jay  Gould  and 
the  Associated  Press  were  withholding  or  perverting  re 
turns,  a  crowd  demonstrated  in  front  of  the  Western  Union 
Building  with  the  yell,  "Hang  Jay  Gould!"  but  policemen 
soon  dispersed  them.  Some  two  hundred  men  before  the 
"Tribune"  office  burned  copies  of  that  paper.  So  threaten 
ing  did  the  excitement  become  in  Chicago  that  on  November 
7th  Mayor  Harrison  requested  the  papers  to  cease  issuing 
bulletins.  In  Boston  bulletins  were  discontinued.  In  Phila 
delphia  political  clubs  were  directed  not  to  parade,  persons 
blowing  horns  or  masquerading  on  the  streets  being  liable 
to  arrest. 

The  Democratic  managers  professed  apprehension  lest 
the  "fraud  of  ?76"  should  be  repeated  in  a  new  guise,  and 
were  determined  to  prevent  this.  The  Electoral  Commis 
sion,  however,  now  proved  to  be,  to  the  Democracy,  a 
blessing  in  disguise.  Its  rule,  "not  to  go  behind  the  re 
turns,"  had  been  made  the  New  York  law  for  procedure  like 
that  in  hand,  and  as,  upon  a  count  under  the  most  rigid 
scrutiny,  the  New  York  returns  footed  up  a  Cleveland 
plurality  of  a  trifle  over  a  thousand  votes,  post-election 
manipulation  was  impossible.  Including  those  of  New  York, 
Cleveland  received  219  electoral  votes  to  Elaine's  182.  The 
popular  vote  reached  beyond  10,000,000,  of  which  4,911,000 
were  for  Cleveland,  giving  him  a  plurality  over  Elaine  of 
62,000. 


END   OF  VOLUME  EIGHT 


IS,    O 


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